Never Tickle A Sleeping Dragon
by Yung Warrior
Summary: Goku, Vegeta, Gohan, Piccolo, and Krillin accidentally touch a transdimensional port key that sends them to Hogwarts right before the Triwizard Tournament! The Z-Fighters are forced to enroll in the magic academy while trying to find a way back to their world. Along the way, they find themselves entangled in wonder, romance, and adventure. What's a Super Saiyan to do?
1. LAST TRAIN TO PARADISE

A fragile peace hung over the planet Earth, its seven billion inhabitants watching, waiting with bated breath. Six days previously, the entire human race was issued a dramatic ultimatum, courtesy of the monster known as Cell.

Cell was the worst monster the universe had ever seen. He was humanoid, but his body was slimy and insect-like. His muscled frame was spotted with black spots, shaded black wings protruding from a mucus-green exoskeleton. Black plates covered his shoulders and chest. Despite his gross appearance, Cell's face was oddly human-looking, most likely due its absorption of the androids 17 and 18.

Cell was a monster who had no purpose in life, threatening the planet for the sole purpose of gaining fleeting amusement from the terrified people who lived on it. Ostensibly, however, his purpose was kill Earth's greatest warrior, Son Goku, as vengeance for the former Red Ribbon Army.

Cell had given the Earth's mightiest warriors ten days to prepare for a tournament known as the Cell Games, where they would all take turns battling Cell one-by-one, lest he kill them all and destroy the Earth itself.

Currently, four days remained until the surely cataclysmic confrontation was to take place, and the Z-Fighters, the super warriors who protected the Earth and its people, were training and resting in preparation.

Son Goku, the Earth's hero, was flying over the planet's surface, his sunshine yellow hair whipping in the breeze, his blue eyes glinting in the sunlight. His hair and eyes were not normally this hue, usually being black. Right now, Goku was resting in his Super Saiyan state as a form of training for the battle against Cell.

Goku was gathering the Dragon Balls, seven mystical spheres that would grant the one who gathered them a wish. Goku got the idea from his genius friend Bulma, who figured they would be useful on hand in the event of disaster.

Goku flew into a grassy field, using the help of Bulma's Dragon Radar to find the seventh and final of the magic orbs, its orange color making it stand out against the green grass. "Awesome, that's the last one! The four-star ball!" Goku said happily. However, right as he was about to pick up the Dragon Ball, a blue wave of energy emitted from it, causing Goku to go on high alert.

The sudden spike in Goku's energy levels were felt across the planet. On Kami's Lookout, Vegeta, Piccolo, Trunks, Tien, and Krillin all gaped as they felt Goku's power level. "Goku might be in trouble, you guys!" Piccolo said urgently, his cape flapping in the breeze. "We should go help him!" Krillin agreed, getting to his feet. Vegeta, to everyone's surprise, lifted off into the air as well.

"I wish to see what sort of enemy has caused Kakarrot to raise his power so much. It can't be Cell's, he's too far away from where Kakarrot is." Vegeta grunted. "Should Tien and I assist you guys?" Trunks asked politely. Piccolo turned and regarded them. "I don't believe that will be necessary. I fell Gohan is moving towards Goku's location as well. Trunks, you have training to do in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber. Tien, you stay on the lookout and protect Dende and Mr. Popo." Piccolo ordered before taking off, Krillin and Vegeta following him.

Gohan, the son of Goku, was at home studying when he felt his father's energy level increase. He quickly said goodbye to his mother, Chi-Chi, changed into a purple gi and moccasins, and flew towards Goku's location. "I hope you're OK, Dad!" He said as his gold hair flew about in the wind. Like his father, Gohan was also practicing maintaining in his Super Saiyan state.

Gohan, Piccolo, Vegeta, and Krillin arrived to where Goku was at the same time, each frantically looking around for an enemy of some sort. "Goku, are you alright?" Krillin shouted down at his friend, who lackadaisically waved at him. "Uh, yeah, I'm good. What's up, you guys?" Goku asked, slightly confused. "What's up?" Vegeta repeated with disgust. "I thought you were fighting someone! Instead, you're just wasting my time, Kakarrot!" he snarled down at Goku.

"Actually, I was gonna call you guys over anyway. Check out this Dragon Ball!" Goku gestured his friends over to the orb. They all stood in a circle around it, examining it. "How strange. It's emitting a ki signature." Gohan observed. "Do you guys think this has anything to do with Dende becoming the new guardian? Maybe he knows what's up!" Krillin suggested.

"Perhaps." Piccolo grunted. The situation utterly baffled him. As they talked, it seemed as though the Dragon Ball was glowing a pale blue light. "This has nothing to do with Cell! He should be our primary focus, not this ridiculous nonsense!" Vegeta hissed angrily. "Well, I don't see how we're gonna make any more wishes if one of the balls is acting weird. Let's being it to Dende, maybe he can sort it out." Goku leaned down to pick up the Dragon Ball, a seemingly innocuous action that had enormous consequences.

An azure flash of light engulfed the five Z-Fighters their bodies disappearing in an instant. They were no longer on planet Earth, or at least, their planet Earth. "What just happened? I don't feel their ki anymore!" Tien shouted. Unfortunately, Trunks had already gone into the Hyperbolic Time Chamber, and thus could not sense the disappearance of any of their energy signatures.

Cell stood stock still in the center of his self-made arena, his eyes widened in disbelief. "Impossible. Their energy…is completely gone. How could that have happened?" Cell murmured to himself. He was not used to events being iut of his control, and it was a distinctly unpleasant sensation for him. "How strange. I'll have to ask Goku about it when he fights me…right before I blow up his miserable planet!" Cell suddenly shouted. There was nothing left to do, but wait. Goku and his friends had four days to return, or else planet Earth was doomed.

Goku, Gohan, Piccolo, Vegeta, and Krillin struggled with a sudden onset of nausea and sickness as they each landed on a tiled floor with a sickening crunch. Their blurred vision eventually formed into more distinct shapes, and they were able to make sense of their surroundings.

"What the hell just happened?" Piccolo rubbed his shoulders, standing up and brushing the dirt from his cape and mantle. "Where are we? It seems that the Dragon Ball teleported us someplace." Gohan hypothesized as he rubbed his eyes. In shock, both Goku and Gohan had dropped out of their Super Saiyan states, their hair and eyes returning to their normal dark coloring.

Krillin was rudely stepped on by a man in a dark blue tweed suit. The man did not stop to apologize, instead hurrying on his way. Krillin rose to his full height (which was not very impressive) and looked around. People were hustling to and fro, their formal suits and dresses contrasting greatly with the Z-Fighters state of dress.

Goku and Krillin were wearing orange martial arts gis with a blue undershirt and boots, formerly the training uniform of Master Roshi's Turtle School of martial arts. Piccolo and Gohan were wearing purple gis, although Piccolo was also wearing a white mantle and cape. An invory turban covered Piccolo's green antennae on his head. Vegeta was wearing his Saiyan armor over his blue bodysuit.

A shrill whistle blared in Gohan's ears. "We're at a train station!" he said slowly. "Yes, good job lads. Now hurry up and get onboard. The train to Hogwarts leaves in five minutes." A gruff old man said off to Gohan's right. "What the hell is a train?" Vegeta muttered to himself.

"Uh, right, sorry sir." Gohan said the old man. The young half-Saiyan stammered. "Well, guys, should we take a trip on the "Hogwarts Express"?" Goku asked with an audacious smile. "Goku, that has to be the most ridiculous thing I've heard all day." Piccolo was massaging his temples, his pointed nails digging into his forehead.

However, the Z-Fighters found themselves on the train regardless, walking through the main corridor. They looked on compartments full of pre-teen and teenage children, all of them wearing black robes with an arcane silver crest on them. The kids gave the warriors strange looks as they passed by. Eventually, the Z-fighters found one remaining compartment on the train.

They awkwardly ambled in, only to find that the car only seated four people. "Uh-oh, it looks like one of us will have to sit somewhere else!" Goku scratched his head. "I'll go find another car. It looks like this train is full of kids close to my age. Who knows, maybe I'll make a friend!" Gohan said enthusiastically.

"That's the spirit, Gohan!" Krillin gave the young boy a thumbs up. "We'll see you in a bit, once we've formulated a plan." Piccolo stoically nodded. Gohan smiled brightly at his friends before bouncing down the hall in search of another compartment.

Goku watched him leave, then turned back to Krillin, Piccolo, and Vegeta, running his fingers through his messy black hair. "I don't sense Trunks, or Tien…or Cell." Goku reached his ki senses out further and further, an ability that was as natural as breathing to him by this point. He not only couldn't sense any of his friends, but he couldn't sense anything familiar at all.

He looked out the window. The sky was darkned by thunderclouds, and rain came down in sheets, thick drops rolling down the window. "This is madness! What happened to Cell? He's gone!" Vegeta shouted. "Keep your voice down, geez." Krillin said nonchalantly. "Shut up, baldy!" Vegeta insulted. Piccolo bristled. "There are two explanations. Either Cell and the others have gone away, or we have. Goku, do you still have the Dragon Ball?" He asked.

Goku searched his person for the orb, finding it in his pants pocket. "Yep, here it is. The four-star ball my grandfather gave to me…" Goku murmured. This particular Dragon Ball always held special meaning to the Saiyan, as it was the last keepsake his grandfather, Gohan, had left him before the latter's death. It was because of this Dragon Ball that Goku met Bulma back when he was only a child.

He handed it over to Piccolo, who analyzed the cream-orange sphere, turning it over in his long fingers. "Whatever was previously affecting the Dragon Ball isn't doing so anymore. The blue glow it had before is gone." Piccolo surmised.

"Whatever it was, touching the Dragon Ball has sent us to an alternate dimension of some kind!" Krillin exclaimed, raising a fist into the air. "Never mind, THAT has the most ridiculous thing I've heard all day." Piccolo sighed. "How could this happen? Even if we can find a way back, we only have four days until the Cell Games!" Vegeta said.

"Look, there's no point worrying about that now. Trunks went into the Time Chamber again, we'll have to hope that he can beat Cell somehow. It's our only hope…" Goku said with a worried expression. A dour air had infected the compartment when Cell's name had been mentioned, affecting even the normally cheerful Goku. Krillin decided to change the subject.

"Well, since we can't find a way back, we better find out everything we can about this place. "Where do you think this train is heading, anyways?" The bald fighter asked, gazing around the compartment. "It's mostly full of human teenagers, so I would guess it's going to a school of some sort." Said Piccolo.

"A school?!" Goku and Vegeta simultaneously exclaimed in shock. "Have any of us ever actually been to school, come to think of it?" Krillin laughed. "Nope!" Goku chirped. "I have, but let's just say I wasn't learning math or history…" Vegeta cackled.

"Let's walk around and ask some people! There's no harm in it, I figure!" Goku stood up. "We'll stay here." Krillin and Piccolo said, Krillin leaning back to take a nap while Piccolo began to meditate. "Alright, suit yourselves." Goku shrugged. "Let's go terrorize some little shits, shall we Kakarrot?" Vegeta smirked.

Gohan searched around the train for a seat, but found that most of the compartments were full. Many of the students stared at him as he made his way through the hall, no doubt due to his strange state of dress. From a cursory sense of their ki, Gohan could tell that these students were not warriors. However, while he sensed their energy, a humming noise continued to break his concentration. When he stopped trying to sense energy, it stopped, but it immediately resumed when he tried to sense energy again.

"How weird." Gohan muttered. He finally found a compartment with a free seat, although three other people were inside of it. From their looks, they appeared to be three or four years older than Gohan, and they appeared to be at least six inches taller than him, if not more.

One of them, a female brunette of fair complexion, was excitedly gesticulating to two boys, explaining something to them. One of the boys, a ginger-haired, freckled lad, had a confused look on his face. The other boy had messy black hair and striking green eyes, as well as a peculiar lightning-bolt shaped scar on his forehead that wasn't quite covered by his bangs.

Gohan politely knocked on the door, his eyes glued to the floor. The girl paused mid-sentence, gaping at Gohan from inside the compartment. The half-Saiyan tentatively slid the door open. "H-hi, is it OK if I sit here, please? Everywhere else is full…" Gohan smiled at them, his dark eyes nervously darting between them.

"Are you a Yank?" Ron blurted, his blue eyes suddenly narrowed. "Um-" Gohan began. "Ronald Weasley, you uncultured swine! That's a pejorative!" Hermione said furiously. Gohan had no idea what a "Yank" was, but he decided not to question it. All three of them had suddenly looked at Gohan full on for the first time. All three of them were rather taken aback by Gohan's impressive physique. The young Saiyan had not an ounce of body fat on him, and his martial arts gi showed off his muscles rather gratuitously. "Um, so can I sit here, or…?" he started up again.

"Oh, of course, how rude of me!" The girl moved a suitcase out of the seat adjacent to her, blushing furiously. "My name is Hermione Granger," she said. "And this is Ron Weasley," she pointed to the ginger-haired kid. "And that's…" she suddenly paused. "Harry Potter." Harry sighed. It was clear that he didn't like being introduced to strangers.

"Hi, my name is Gohan! I'm a…transfer student!" Gohan was making a story up as he went along. He hoped that the students wouldn't pick up on his deceit. He felt bad, but they would certainly think he was crazy if he told them the truth, and he needed to find out more about this mysterious place he had found himself.

"A transfer student, eh? What year are you in, mate?" Ron questioned. "The same as you." Gohan said quickly. He immediately regretted saying this, as he was certainly going to be caught if they asked what year that was numerically. However, Ron nodded at this answer, satisfied.

"Where's your stuff?" Harry asked. "Oh, I uh… don't have anything with me." Gohan said dejectedly. "Well, we'll have to get you some spare robes, then, at least for the sorting." Hermione offered kindly. Gohan took it that robes were the school uniform. He didn't like the idea of changing out of his gi, but he needed to blend in. "It looks like we're fairly close to the same size." Harry said as he pulled out a spare set of robes from his trunk.

"Thanks! You're too kind!" Gohan said happily. "No problem!" Harry smiled back at him. Hermione left the car briefly so that Gohan could change into the Hogwarts school uniform. Harry's spare robes were a plain black color, with the silver Hogwarts crest pinned on the right bosom. The robes hung over Gohan's lithe frame in baggy fashion, and they made the boy feel as though he were wearing shower curtains. Nonetheless, his discomfort at the new clothes was outweighed by his joy at making new friends. Gohan had always wanted to make friends his own age, but he had never had the opportunity to before today. He asked many questions about Hogwarts from his new companions, who were glad to answer them.

Near the back of the train, Vegeta was hoisting a fifth-year Hufflepuff student by the collar of his robes, his tremendous strength rendering the task effortless for the prince. "Alright, one of you punks better give me your clothes, now!" Vegeta yelled. He hoisted the Hufflepuff further into the air, the student's head clanging against the ceiling of the train. The two other Hogwarts students who were sitting in the car were paralyzed with fear.

"W-why do you want my robes so bad? I never did anything bad, please! Don't take my robes! I don't want any trouble!" the Hufflepuff wailed, tears streaming down his cheeks. "If you really don't want any trouble, then you'll do as I say! Strip, now!" Vegeta commanded with royal presence. "Ok, I'll do it…just please don't hurt me!" Vegeta lazily threw the teenager on the floor, crossing his arms impatiently while the boy hurriedly took his robes off.

Meanwhile, Goku had wandered into a different section of the vehicle. He knocked on the door of a random car, hoping to find some friendly students who could help him out. Who he found, however, was Draco Malfoy, an infamous bully in the Slytherin House. Draco had white-blond hair and patrician features, a sneer ever-present on his face. Behind him stood his two omnipresent goons, Crabbe and Goyle, whose collective IQ was likely even lower than Goku's.

"Hello? Are you our new Defense Against The Dark Arts teacher?" Draco asked imperiously. Goku scratched his head. "Huh? No, I'm not a teacher. I'd be horrible at it!" He grinned ingratiatingly. "Where are you from?" Draco commanded. "I've never seen such strange garb from around here." He laughed nasally. "My name's Goku! I'm a Saiyan from Earth!" Goku smiled.

Draco looked highly confused and annoyed. "Get out of my sight, you peasant ponce!" Draco slammed the compartment door, the subsequent breeze blowing Goku's messy hair about. "Huh, what a weird guy." Goku mused. Suddenly, he saw Vegeta sauntering towards him, wearing ill-fitting black robes. They were so large on the prince's small frame, a good portion of the cloth was dragging on the ground behind Vegeta.

Goku laughed. "Looks like those don't fit you very well there, buddy." He said good-naturedly. Vegeta sneered. "Hmph."

When Goku and Vegeta returned to their original compartment, they found Krillin sleeping and Piccolo meditating, just as they left them. "Baldy, arise from your slumber! There is important business to be done!" Krillin jumped, highly startled by Vegeta's rude summons. Piccolo opened one eye, looking highly annoyed. Krillin began to chuckle once he settled down. "Heh, looks like you're a few sizes off!" he snarked. "Oh, as if you're in any position to be insulting someone's height!" Vegeta snarled.

"Settle down, both of you." Piccolo said in a low, deep baritone. "I'll use my Clothes Beam to replicate this particular robe for the four of us. Unfortunately, Gohan is on his own on this one." Piccolo charged a yellow spiral of energy in his hand before launching at Vegeta, who allowed the cream-colored light to wash over him.

In an instant, three copies of the robe Vegeta was wearing where created, identical down to the atomic level. "Awesome! Thanks, Piccolo!" Goku threw on the black cloak over his orange gi, and found that it fit him perfectly. "Nice, mine fits great!" Goku said, examining the fabric. When he looked up at his compatriots, however, the Saiyan got a hearty laugh.

Since the robes were the same size, and Piccolo was significantly taller than Goku, it looked more like the Namekian was wearing a long skirt than proper robes. His knees nearly showed from under the black fabric. Krillin and Vegeta had the opposite problem, the robes so large the billowed behind their diminutive frames, although Krillin had it worse.

"Don't laugh, I'm gonna hit a growth spurt soon!" Krillin blushed furiously. "Krillin, you are 35 years old. There will be no more growth spurts." Piccolo smirked. "At least I don't look like a big green schoolgirl!" Krillin said loudly.

"Um, anything from the trolley, dears?" an old lady pushing a food cart said, peering into the compartment. Her eyes were as wide as dinner plates, but she had no time to process the sight in front of her, as Goku descended her, drool falling from his lips.

"You have food!? Awesome, I'm starving!" Goku started digging in the trolley, grabbing every type of candy he saw. "I'll take all of this!" Goku had drained the cart of its contents, and was attempting to balance a perilously swaying tower of sweets. "Alright, that'll be 196 galleons." The old lady said slowly. "Shoot, I forgot you had to pay for food sometimes." Goku frowned childishly. Everyone in the compartment gaped at the Saiyan, even Vegeta in awe of Goku's bottomless appetite.

"You boys must not be from around here. Tell you what, take one of these for free. My treat." The old lady smiled at Goku warmly as the Saiyan put away the candy, keeping an insultingly small packet of multicolored jelly beans. "Thank you!" Goku said happily. She nodded in response, muttering something about "weird foreigners" as she left.

Goku plopped into his seat, opening the bag of beans. "Mmm, I love jelly beans!" Goku gobbled the entire bag at once. "Wait, no! At least share some!" Vegeta protested in vain. Goku's face twisted in disgust as a veritable army of flavors assaulted his taste buds. Some were normal, even tasty flavors, such as fruit or chocolate. However, most tasted like tree bark, shampoo, motor oil, Frieza's tail, fruitcake, and cow farts.

Goku immediately puked on the floor, emptying his stomach of its vile contents. Krillin leapt onto his seat to avoid the flow of bile, while Piccolo and vegeta could only watch in horror. Krillin devolved into a laughing fit, clutching his stomach in hilarity. "You…are disgusting!" Vegeta covered his mouth. Piccolo picked up the empty bag. "Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans…." Piccolo read off of the garish packaging. "Hmph. It looks like they're meant to be eaten one at a time. Eating them all at the same time was a bit too much, even for you, Goku." Goku writhed on the ground. "Yeah, I figured that out!" Goku whined.

Gohan, Harry, Ron, and Hermione were all startled to hear vomiting noises from down the hall. "Oh my goodness, someone's gotten sick!" Hermione said with worry. Ron and Harry snickered, while Gohan facepalmed, the Halfling having a very good idea of who was responsible for the mischief.

"Hey, so what electives are offered at this school? I heard they do things a little differently over here." Gohan said quickly in an attempt to divert attention from his friends. Sure enough, Hermione's face brightened as he spoke. "Oh, here we go." Ron muttered. Hermione excitedly explained about the different courses that were available at Hogwarts, growing especially verbose about Arithmancy and Ancient Runes. However, her voice wiltered noticeably when it came to Divination. Gohan listened intently, absorbing every word of what she was saying.

"That's the first time I've ever seen someone listen to Hermione like this." Harry was taken aback, his glasses nearly falling from his nose. "Looks like we've got two peas in a pod here, mate." Ron grimaced.

_"Well, if I'm here to learn, then I had better take the tough classes. Besides, it's not like we're gonna be here for very long." _Gohan thought. "I suppose I'll take Arithmancy and Ancient Runes, if you recommend it so highly." He said after mulling it over. Hermione's smile widened. "Great, those are what I'm in! You can take more than two if you wish, though." She said.

"Care Of Magical Creatures is a good class too! It's very interesting, and the professor is a good friend." Harry suggested. Gohan scratched his head, a nervous habit he had inherited from his father. "I'll see if I can." He smiled shyly, an expression Hermione found to be very charming.

"I take it you play Quidditch, then?" Ron asked, indirectly gesturing to Gohan's better than average physical shape. "What's Quidditch?" was a question Gohan would soon regret verbalizing, as he was greeted with shock and horror by both Harry and Ron. They immediately began explaining the rules of the game to Gohan, who did not understand any of it due to both of them talking at the same time.

"Um, sorry. I mostly just like to train." Gohan shrugged. "Like a martial artist? How interesting. Maybe you could teach us some moves sometime!" Ron said, impressed. Gohan laughed. "Maybe. I've had to practice for a long time to get as good as I am." He said.

Before they knew it, the train was beginning to slow down. "Looks like we're almost at Hogwarts." Harry noted. "Wait, what do I do once we get there?" Gohan said in a panic. "Well, you'll be sorted into one of the four houses, based on where you'll fit in best." Hermione explained. "How is that determined?" Gohan asked as they all began to stand up. "Oh, you'll see." She teased. "You see, there's Gryffindor, where the brave kids go, Hufflepuff, the house for hard workers, Ravenclaw, the house for smart kids, and Slytherin, where all the evil kids go." Ron said simply.

"Ronald, it's a bit more complicated than that!" Hermione admonished. "It really isn't." Harry whispered to Gohan as Hermione and Ron bickered. "So which house are you guys in?" Gohan asked. "Gryffindor, all three of us!" Ron said proudly. Gohan blinked in confusion. "But Hermione's really smart, so shouldn't she be in Ravenclaw?" He asked.

This struck the golden trio into stunned silence. They had never considered it that way before. "Come to think of it, Hermione's existence does render Ravenclaw kind of pointless, wouldn't you say mate?" Harry said pointedly. "I'd reckon so." Ron agreed, while Hermione blushed from the praise. _"I hope I can make it into Gryffindor. I want to be brave, so that I can protect the people I care about!" _Gohan said internally. _"Plus, it would be great to be in the same house as my new friends."_

Soon enough, the train came to a complete stop. "We'll see you later. First years and transfer students have to take a different route from the train to the castle than returning students do." Harry explained. "Why? Why not just have everyone take the same route and streamline everything?" Gohan asked sharply. Ron clapped him patronizingly on the shoulder. "Oh, you'll see that efficiency is not the foremost concern at Hogwarts. Everything's a but of a spectacle, really." Gohan gulped audibly.

The rain was coming down even harder, and Gohan was soon soaked to the bone as he ran towards his friends from his home dimension. "Hey, son!" Goku called out to Gohan, embarrassing the young half-saiyan and drawing strange looks from the crowd of eleven year old children. To Gohan's initial surprise, none of his friends looked wet at all, despite the veritable downpour. However, when Gohan took a second look at them, he found that each of the Z-fighters were using their ki to project a blanket of heat around them, vaporizing the rain when it came to close. Gohan took a deep breath and did the same, drying his clothes and hair in an instant by expanding his energy.

"Hey, did you make any new friends!?" Krillin asked with a smile. "I sure did! The people here are really nice." The young boy said happily. "Yes, that's wonderful, that they boy is making friends," Vegeta spat. "but we need to find out how to get back to Earth, or need I remind you that we've left my son to fight Cell all by himself!?"

Everyone sobered under this grim reminder. "We'll figure something out, just be patient." Goku said calmly, still looking pale from his previous vomiting. "I don't take orders from you, Kakarrot!" Vegeta said bitterly. Both Saiyans glared intensely at each other, and for a moment, the other Z-Fighters believed that the two were going to start fighting then and there. However, the perilous moment was interrupted by a gruff, hulking figure.

"Firs' years o'er here!" A giant brute of a man was hollering at the prospective first years. He repeated this as hundreds of children made their way over to rickety wooden dinghies, with which they would sail through a tumultuous lake to get to the castle. "Oy!" the giant called over to the Z-Fighters. "Transfer studenst'll be traveling with th firs' years!"

"We can see that castle from here, let's just fly over there." Krillin proposed. "We would do well not to attract attention. Perhaps Goku's Instant Transmission would serve us better." Piccolo countered. "I can't; I don't recognize any ki signatures from around here." Goku said with a sad shrug. Vegeta stood apart from the discussion, his eyes smoldering with rancor.

Eventually, they decided to just ride the boats with the rest of the first-years, who were all sopping wet from the voyage to the castle. They all waited outside an entrance hall, the sounds of dripping and shivering echoing through the cavernous chamber. The Z-Fighters were drinking in their surroundings, having never seen anything quite like the castle's gothic style before. Even Vegeta was interested in the castle.

A small boy shuffled up to Gohan. "Are…are you related to that guy?" the child asked, referring to the giant who had guided them to the castle earlier. Gohan laughed. "Haha, not quite! My friends and I are new students here, so we're gonna be sorted with you!" Gohan leaned down to speak to the boy, trying to look as unintimidating as possible, which was difficult, considering Piccolo and Vegeta were standing right behind him.

Suddenly, a crisp, clear Scottish-accented voice rang out to the crowd of new students. "You all will come with me to be sorted now." An elegant older woman said sharply. She was dressed in velvet chint robes, and a pointed witche's head sat on top of a hawkish, strict face. Her gaze turned sharply to the Z-Fighters, and shock momentarily flitted across her face before being replaced with a stoic mask.

The first years and the Z-Fighters entered the Great Hall of Hogwarts. The assembly chamber was decorated with four wooden tables, each decorated with either red, yellow, blue, or green tapestry. The ceiling was seemingly nonexistent, storm clouds rolling above the students, although thankfully, no rain was falling. Candles were seemingly floating of their own accord all around the hall, illuminating the room.

"Wow, this is awesome!" Goku said, his dark eyes alight with wonder. The elderly lady turned and spared a tight smile at him. "I'm glad you think so, Mr. Goku." Goku's expression was suddenly quizzical. "How do you know my name?" He interrogated. She frowned. "We at Hogwarts take care to learn the names of oru new students. For the record, I am Professor McGonagall, the transfiguration professor of this academy. During your time at this school, you will always refer to your teachers as "Professor", "Sir", or "Madam". Am I clear?" She said strictly.

"Oh, sure. Sorry, teach!' Goku laughed. _"Not the sharpest wand in the drawer, this one."_ McGonagall thought with slight amusement. Meanwhile, the other Z-Fighters were drawing attentive stares from the other students, mostly due to their intimidating physical presence. "Why is his skin green? Is he sick?" many of the students were questioning about Piccolo. The Namekian, to his credit, maintained a coldly dignified expression, although his super hearing guaranteed that he heard every one of their insensitive words.

"Looks like Hogwarts accepts dwarves now." Draco Malfoy sneered, earning chuckles from the Slytherin table. Krillin frowned at them, while Vegeta looked like he was ready to blast the entire hall into oblivion. Gohan saw Hermione wave at him with a brilliant smile, while Harry and Ron nodded at him. Gohan smiled widely, returning both gestures with enthusiasm.

"Creevey, Dennis!" McGonagall announced, putting an end to the din of post-vacation conversation and the mutterings about the new transfer students. The Z-Fighters quickly deduced. that the sorting was alphabetical. What they did not expect, however, was for Dennis Creevey to put on a talking hat that shouted out which house he would be in.

"Woah, I wonder how that works!" Krillin exclaimed. Piccolo shrugged, gazing up at a table raised above the others. He surmised that the teachers were sitting there. The sorting continued, until Gohan's name was announced. Before Gohan could step forward, however, a wizened old man with a trailing silver beard and hair stood from an ornate chair, holding a goblet of wine in his hand. "Ladies and gentlemen, tonight we welcome the first of many oppurtunites to behave admirably in front of outsiders. We graciously welcome five transfer students, Mr. gohan here being one of them. They will be joining the fourth year class." The old wizard's voice was unbelievably compelling, and Gohan held on to everything he said.

_"He must be the Headmaster of the school. I wonder if he's powerful…"_ Krillin thought. _"How do these people know who we are?"_ Vegeta mulled. Gohan awkwardly sat on a wooden stool while Professor McGonagall lowered the patched, frayed hat on his head. Gohan felt his wild hair compressed slightly by the hat. He was curious, and a little scared of what would happen next.

**"Well, what do we have here? A trans-dimensional traveller, eh? My, this hasn't happened to me in over 500 years!"** A gravelly voice echoed in Gohan's mind. _"Wait, you can read my mind?" _the half-Saiyan questioned. **"Obviously, since we're already speaking. I understand this is a strange experience for you, but please, try to ask smarter questions!" **the hat snarked. **"Now then, on to your sorting…my, you're very intelligent for such a young man. I daresay you rival Hermione Granger in that department. Ravenclaw may be a good fit for you." **The hat complimented. _"Gosh, thanks! There is still a lot I need to learn, though."_ Gohan thought bashfully.

**"Humble! Maybe Hufflepuff, then. However, you have many impressive feats in battle to your name as well, young man. Your bravery is notable as well." **The hat said sagely**. "In the end, the choice is yours. The only house you wouldn't excel in is Slytherin."** _"Well, I'd like to be in the same house as my new friends!"_ Gohan thought hopefully. **"As you wish. GRYFFINDOR!" **The hat shouted out the last word to tumultuous applause from the red table, polite cheers from the yellow and blue areas, and stony silence from the green table.

McGonagall smiled at Gohan as she took the hat. Gohan's hair sprung back into place with a boingy noise, earning scattered laughs across the hall. Gohan went to sit down at the Gryffindor table next to Harry, Ron, and Hermione. "Good on you, mate!" Ron congratulated. Before Gohan could say or so anything, however, Professor McGonagall called out Goku's name.

**"Well, we're certainly not dealing with a Ravenlaw, are we?" **The hat said snidely. _"I have no idea what you just said!"_ Goku proclaimed cheerfully. "**Right. Anyways, what exactly are you doing here? You're in your late 30's! Although you don't look like it."** The hat questioned. _"I picked up the Dragon Ball, and now I'm here!"_ Goku chirped. **"This is going nowhere. I must say though, you are very brave. You've fought foes on a level most could only dream of, and you've saved your home planet from destruction several times. You have my respect for this."** The hat said. _"Well thanks! I try!"_ **"GRYFFINDOR!"**

"Well, that didn't take very long." Two indentical ginger-haired boys said simultaneously. Goku ambled over to the Gryffindor table, accepting mass amounts of high fives from the Gryffindor students. "Hey, we're in the same house, son!" Gohan facepalmed, and the Gryffindors looked at both of them.

"Are you father and son?" One pudgy-looking Gryffindor asked. "Yep, Gohan's my boy!" Goku said, throwing an arm around his son. "Wow, that's the first time I've seen a parent attend the same school as his kid. You must be really overprotective!" Ron laughed. Gohan chuckled bitterly at the sheer inaccuracy of the statement.

"Well, I missed out on school the first time round, so this is as good an opportunity as any to get an education, I'd say!" Goku said. "Good for you!" Hermione said kindly. Goku, upon request, quickly began telling stories from snippets of his life.

The sorting went on until Krillin was called. **"Incredibly loyal, this one."**_ "Wait, I have so many questions. How can a hat talk? Do you has a conscience, or morality? How are you able to read my mind? This is madness!"_ Krillin fired. **"Magic. It's simply a different form of what you do, what with your flying, ki blasts, and Solar Flares."** The hat succinctly explained. "What? That doesn't answer my questions at all!" Krillin protested. "You shall learn with time. For now, however, your loyalty and your courage are in equal amount. Gryffindor or Hufflepuff would suit you well." The hat said. "I should live with Goku and Gohan. That way, it'll be easier to contact each other if need be." **"If that is your wish, I cannot stop you. GRYFFINDOR!"**

Goku, Gohan, and the other Gryffindors clapped loudly for Krillin, who looked slightly annoyed as he sat down. "He's one of those Chinamen! He's here to steal our jobs!" A Gryffindor boy muttered in an Irish accent with the churned consistency of a guttural porridge. "Seamus, your racism is showing again." An Indian girl huffed at him. "Oh, sorry. He said bashfully.

Krillin made his way over to the Gryffindor table, his robes trailing behind him. He tried to sit by Goku, but it seemed the Gryffindors did not want to let him sit down. "Hey, is it cool if you guys can scoot down for my friend here?" Goku asked Hermione. "Oh, sure. Sorry, we didn't realize-" "It's not a problem." Krillin sat next to Goku, whispering his thanks to him.

Piccolo sat with his legs and arms crossed on the wooden stools, drawing strange looks from the teachers. The Sorting Hat was engaged in a serious discussion with the Namekian. "**Today marks the first time I've ever sorted aliens into the houses. Like your friends, you have the heart of a lion. However, right now, it seems that you are more concerned with finding a way home than your friends are."** The Sorting Hat said. "Have you ever heard of inter-dimensional travel before?" Piccolo asked.

**"I have not heard of an occurrence quite like this."** The hat said carefully. **"But you may find the resources to learn how to get back to your original world in Ravenclaw."** It suggested. "Very well, then, if it will help me." **"RAVENCLAW!"**

The Ravenclaw table clapped magnanimously for their strange new student. "Isn't that guy a friend of yours? Why didn't he go into Gryffindor?" Harry asked. "And why does the bloke look so sick?" Ron said bluntly. "Yeah, Piccolo and I go way back. He's an alien!" Goku smiled over at Piccolo as the Namek quickly strode to the Ravenclaw. "An alien? What country is he from?" Hermione asked. "Namek!" "What?" Hermione exclaimed. "Is that near China?" Seamus hollered from down the table.

"Vegeta, Prince." Was one of the final names called for the sorting. Professor McGonagall winced at being forced to refer to Vegeta as a prince, much to the amusement of the faculty. Vegeta swaggered over to the Sorting Hat. The hat's brim touched the tip of his spiky black hair for only a few nanoseconds before the cap shouted out **"SLYTHERIN!" **at the top of its metaphorical lungs.

The Slytherin table burst into raucous applause and laughter, while the other three tables booed and hissed at Vegeta, who smirked in response. Goku was the sole Gryffindor who clapped, and was surprised that no one else did. "Why does everyone hate Slytherin?" Goku asked.

"It's were all the evil kids go. Every single dark wizard that has ever lived has come from Slytherin. No exceptions. Ever." Ron indicted. Goku frowned, peering over at his rival, who returned his gaze with a smug grin. "Ostensibly, the house is meant to represent ambition, cunning, and determination. However, at best, its members are selfish bullies, and at worst, they're sociopaths." Hermione explained with disdain.

Goku looked sadly over at Vegeta, who was getting along swimmingly with the students at the Slytherin table. "That fits Vegeta perfectly. It's like the house was built around his personality." Krillin sniffed. "And you guys are friends with him?" Harry asked in sheer bewilderment. "Well, I wouldn't go that far-" Gohan began, only to be cut off by Goku. "Sure, Vegeta's one of my best buddies! He's a really nice guy when you get to know him!" Goku was laying it on thick, and Gohan and Krillin actually laughed as he said this.

"Man, you guys are weird!" Harry laughed, signaling that he meant it as a compliment. Suddenly, their conversation was cut short by the table being filled with heaps upon heaps of food. Roast beef, chicken, various types of pasta and vegetables, and a criminal amount of sweets were laden on the table. Goku's eyes glazed over in lust.

"Dig in!" The old professor at the head of the table said, and the students made sure to follow suit. Goku and Gohan began inhaling any and all food within any close proximity of them, shocking the Gryffindors and bemusing Krillin. "Their manners are even worse than Ron's!" Hermione groaned. Ron's twin brothers, Fred and George Weasley, laughed uproariously at the gluttony.

Luckily for everyone else at the table, more food spawned, as if to compensate for the bottomless appetites of the Saiyans. Those who weren't staring at Goku and Gohan were gaping at Vegeta, who alone ate more than the rest of the Slytherin table combined. In contrasting fashion, Piccolo only drank water at the Ravenclaw, as Namekians did not need to eat like humans and Saiyans did.

The teachers were unabashedly staring as well. "Professor Dumbledore, it seems we have trouble on our hands! The House-Elves will need to work overtime!" McGonagall said with a thin smile. Dumbledore laughed. "It's good to see young men with such healthy appetite!"

After an hour of nonstop consumption, the Saiyans finally finished eating. Professor Dumbledore stood at a golden podium, a disarming and friendly smile on his face. "I take it the feast lived up to your expectations?" He asked rhetorically to the student body, who all nodded in agreement, except for Goku, who shouted "You betcha!" up at Dumbledore.

"Well then, now that we are all well fed, there are the customary beginning of term rules and regulations to administer. As you all know, the Forbidden Forest is forbidden. That is why it is called the Forbidden Forest." "Oh, we'll have to visit there sometime, son!" Goku nudged Gohan in the shoulder, earning a glare from Hermione.

"I would be honored to announce our new Defense Against The Dark Arts teacher, Professor Alastor Moody." Dumbledore gestured to a man on the end of the table who wore a bulky, lumpy frame, a dirty brown trenchcoat, and strangely, a spinning, spastic blue artificial eye that contrasted sharply with his beady brown real eye.

Goku immediately sensed an cold, dark, undercurrent in Moody's energy. He turned to Gohan and Krillin, who also sensed it. They all quickly mistrusted this new Professor.

"It's my painful duty to inform you all that the Inter-House Quidditch Cup will not be held this year." Dumbledore said this to immediate and violent protest from the student body. "Yes, I realize this is bad news. However, what is taking its place will pique your interest, I'm sure. You see, this year, Hogwarts will host an international competition known as the Triwizard Tournament. In a series of three tasks, Hogwarts will compete against two other schools of magic, Beauxbatons and Durmstrang.

This will help foster good relations between us and our foreign counterparts. I fully expect that the students of Hogwarts will be on their best behavior when interacting with the foreign delegation. When it comes to the tourney, one champion will be randomly chosen from a ballot for each school. Only students aged 17 or older will be able to enter their name for drawing to ensure that each potential champion will have the education and skill necessary to compete. These tasks will be dangerous, and if you are chosen to play, then there is no going back. Participate at your own discretion." Dumbledore warned.

"Wow, sounds awesome! Thinking of joining, Goku?" Krillin asked his best friend. "Yeah, I'll enter. It'll be something to pass the time with, anyways." Goku said enthusiastically. "A thousand galleons, Harry! I'd cut off my arm for that much money!" Ron drooled. "These tasks must be something else. It'll be a nice change to watch someone else risk their neck for a change." Harry muttered.

"The fame and glory that would come from winning those tasks is immeasurable." Draco Malfoy murmured to his goons, Crabbe and Goyle, at the Slytherin table. Vegeta huffed at them while taking a sip from a wine goblet. Draco's face screwed up in indignation. "Oh? And what is your problem?" He sneered. "I suppose you won't have any problem getting past the age line, won't you, grandpa?" Vegeta did not visibly react, feeling the justified arrogance he usually felt when dealing with a lesser being.

"I care little for such petty competitions. However, perhaps there might be some challenge lying in this little tournament." Was all he said. Some of the Slytherins were impressed by this prideful claim, while others, like Malfoy, were affronted.

"Now then, it is time to go to bed. The prefects will escort the first years of their dorm. I humbly request the transfer students meet with me in my office to iron out their schedules. Good night!" Dumbledore bid the students goodbye. "See you later, Gohan!" Hermione waved to the half-Saiyan, who returned the gesture. The five Z-Fighters came together at the front of the hall, where Professor McGonagall stood to meet them.

"I'll escort you all to the Headmaster's office." She said sharply before turning about-face and quickly walking, not looking back once to see if the Z-Fighters were following her or not.

On the walk to Dumbledore's office, Piccolo met Goku's eyes intently, and began communication telepathically with him. _"Goku, how do they know who we are?" "I have no clue. There's no reason they would know us at all."_ Goku thought back at his friend. "_We have three days to get back to our Earth." "I know, but we can't worry about that now. We'll have to hope Trunks can do something."_ Goku thought. "_I was told that there were materials in the Ravenclaw dorm that could help us. I'll investigate it and report to you tomorrow. Until then, try not to mess things up too much." _Piccolo warned.

One surprisingly short trip later, they all stood in front of a gargoyle statue. It looked completely stationary until McGonagall leaned in and whispered something to it, causing the statue to spring to life and move with alarming alacrity and grace, amazing Gohan and shocking the other Z-Fighters. The opening created by the gargoyle's movement revealed the Headmaster's office, a spacious cavern adorned with spinning, colorful gold trinkets and baubles.

The wizened old man sat with his fingers tented, looking at each of the Z-Fighters in the eyes, starting with Piccolo. The Namekian immediately felt a foreign presence lurking in his mind, and shut his mind off from the alien presence. _"Everyone, don't look the old man in the eye!"_ Piccolo managed to communicate to the other Z-Fighters.

Dumbledore gazed at Piccolo for a short moment before speaking unctuously to them. "I am glad to see you all have arrived here safely." _"These five have unbelievable magical power! It's far beyond anything I've ever sensed before!"_ Dumbledore's thoughts were growing panicky, and he forced himself to calm down.

"I must say, you all a different breed than most students we get here." Dumbledore's eyes twinkled. Gohan and Krillin were sitting awkwardly in armchairs while Goku was standing with his hands behind his head. Piccolo and Vegeta were leaning against the wall, both sullen.

There was an awkward silence stretching over 30 seconds before Professor McGonagall cleared her throat. "You all will need to choose your electives, of course." She said crisply. "Mr. Goku, Gohan, and Krillin will come with me, while Mr. Piccolo will meet with Professor Flitwick. Mr. Vegeta, you will consult with Professor Snape once Professor Dumbledore summons him."

Goku and Krillin looked very nervous all of the sudden. "Um…." "Please, don't be nervous, gentlemen. I trust you did the proper research about your courses before coming here?" McGonagall had a knowing smirk on her face. "Well, I'll take Arithmancy, Ancient Runes, and Care For Magical Creatures. If that's OK!" Gohan requested.

"Three electives? Very nice, very nice indeed." Dumbledore commented. "I will take those as well." Goku and Krillin said at the same time. "Oh my, we have some ambitious students in Gryffindor this year!" McGonagall's lips were twitching upwards imperceptibly as he led Piccolo and Vegeta from the office, leaving Goku and Krillin bemused.

"Alright, see ya later, Bumblebee!" Goku said, yawning. Dumbledore shook his head and smiled. "One more thing, Mr. Gohan." Gohan immediately turned around to face Dumbledore. Goku and Krillin tensed, facing the door.

Dumbledore attempted to look Gohan to in the eye. Gohan pretended to be tired, closing his eyes as he yawned. "Yes, sir?" Gohan asked politely. "I merely wished to compliment you on your choice of companions. Miss Granger is an excellent student, and Mr. Potter and Mr. Weasley will be most hopeful in getting you all acclimated." Dumbledore said in a grandfatherly way. "Thank you sir, they've been very nice already!" said Gohan. This earned a warm smile from the Headmaster, who waved politely at them as they left.

Professor Flitwick was frightened to be in the same room as Piccolo. Of course, many would share this sentiment. Piccolo was a hulking, muscular warrior with a perpetually pissed-off expression and sharp fangs and fingernails. However, the fear Fltiwick felt was undercut by the comically short robes Piccolo was wearing.

"Not to impose, Mr. Piccolo, but would you like me to get you some proper fitting clothes?" Flitwick had to hold his hand over his mouth to obscure his cheeky grin. "That would be much appreciated." The Namekian said gruffly. "Engorgio!" Flitwick waved his wand, and Piccolo's robes suddenly expanded, reaching down to his ankles.

"Thanks." Piccolo smirked. "Not a problem, good sir. If there was a charm that turned your skin green as well, I can fix that-" Piccolo growled as Flitwick said this, and the diminutive professor inwardly swore never to speak of Piccolo's skin color ever again.

"Ah, yes, my mistake. Now then, as for your electives. What do you want to take?" "May I see a list of choices? I'd like to see if there are any last changes I wish to make." Piccolo requested. "Ah, of course." Flitwick twirled his wand once more, a paper forming from blue energy that trailed from the wand.

The paper was a list of all the available elective courses at Hogwarts. _"The ability to create matter from nothing….these "wizards" have some strange techniques, despite their low battle powers." _Piccolo thought as he snatched the paper. He quickly scanned the list, a few options catching his eye.

"Divination! The ability to see the future!" he exclaimed. _"Perhaps if I learned this ability, I could learn some knowledge about how to get out of here!" _To Piccolo's shock, Flitwick laughed when he said this. "Oh, Divination is a load of hogwash. There's no academic merit to it all, it's just a sluff class that Gryffindors take to fufill their two elective credits." Flitwick said.

"I believe that there may be something to gain from it. I'll take it, along with Ancient Runes." Piccolo said. "Good boy for taking Ancient Runes. Even though you look like you're in your thirties. Perhaps you're only half a fool." Flitwick quipped before levitating a quill to sign his name on the paper.

Vegeta stood across from the Head of Slytherin House. Professor Snape was far less muscled and physically adept than Vegeta, but he was just as intimidating as the Prince of all Saiyans, albeit in his own way. Snape's pitch black, greasy shoulder-length hair matched the tone of his robes. His skin was extraordinarily pale, almost yellow in hue, and he seemed thinner than what was perhaps healthy. His dark eyes were like empty, hollow tunnels.

Vegeta thought that the Professor looked like one of those vampires Bulma always read about in her trashy romance novels back on Earth. "Explain." The professor said in an agonizingly slow, sibilant hiss. "Explain what?" "You are to refer to me as "sir" for as long as you are a student at this school. I don't know how things were done at your previous institutions, but you will address me with the proper respect. Is that clear?" Snape said quickly.

"I suppose, sir." Vegeta decided to keep his voice as neutral as possible. "Good. For your electives, I understand you wish to take Care Of Magical Creatures and Ancient Runes." While this sentence would only take a normal person five seconds to say, Snape was able to stretch it over a minute long using creatively emphasized vowels.

Vegeta was not afraid of anything, for better or for worse. He had faced down evil alien overlords, emotionless androids, and his wife while she was angry at him for leaving his dirty clothes about the Capsule Corporation compound. However, Snape's chilling presence put due pause in even the Prince Of All Saiyans. Every venomous comment that had risen to his tongue unbidden was forced back down. "Yes." Vegeta muttered. "Good. You are dismissed." This took another 90 seconds for Snape to say, Vegeta inching towards the door all the while.

"Wait! Mr. Vegeta. I have another question." Snape halted Vegeta in his tracks. "How are you a fourth year student even though you look like a grown man?" Snape's hollow, demonic eyes narrowed in suspicion for a moment. "Um…" Vegeta was caught completely off guard. "I failed my exams first time round." He lied. Snape looked Vegeta directly in the eye.

Although he was loath to take advice from the Namekian, Vegeta did as Piccolo suggested and tried to think of nothing at all. Well, not exactly. Vegeta loved to see the look of fear etched into a lesser being, and nothing was scarier than a giant, screaming gorilla. Smirking, Vegeta summoned the image of himself in Oozaru form to the forefront of his mind, howling at the full moon.

Snape's eyes widened, and he snapped his wind to his hand, pointing it directly at Vegeta, who did not uncross his arms. "How did you do that?" Snape said hurriedly. "What the devil was that…thing!?" Vegeta did not respond. "I know how to deal with mind-reading." Vegeta's oozing arrogance conveyed with this claim with completely undeserved, as he only heard vague advice from Piccolo not five minutes earlier on how to deal with Legilimency.

"That is beyond the skill of a mere fourth year!" Snape hissed. "My education was a bit spotty. I hope to remedy that. You see, someone once entered my mind without my persmission, and I felt it a necessity to learn how to defend myself. The image of the ape tends to scare out intruders quickly." Vegeta said smugly.

Snape now had a begrudging respect etched into his sharp, angular features. "I see. You already show much magical potential. I have never come across a strain of Occlumency quite so…vicious." "I appreciate the compliment." Vegeta smirked.

It was late that evening when Goku, Gohan, and Krillin entered their dorm for the first time. It was a tall chamber decorated with a kaleidoscope of warm colors, giving the room a welcoming air. "You said the password was Balderdash, right?" Krillin asked. "Yes. If you don't remember, just wait outside the Fat Lady's portrait until another Gryffindor comes along." Hermione explained.

"We could show you guys around the castle, if you like." Harry offered. "Nah, we'll find our way around." Goku shrugged him off. The Z-Fighters had the ability to fly at supersonic speeds, and if they truly needed to be somewhere in quick fashion, Goku could always use his Instant Transmission. The ki signatures of the students would become increasingly clear over time.

Everyone (excluding Hermione) went into he bedchamber for the boys. "There are exactly three beds for us! How lucky!" Gohan said brightly. "Actually, the room magically expands for guests, we saw the beds conjure themselves a few minutes before you blokes walked in." A black boy said from the top of his bunk bed.

"Gentlemen, this is Dean Thomas." Ron introduced them, Dean momentarily putting down a sports magazine to shake the hands of the Z-Fighters, only to bug out when he saw their strange appearances. "Blimey! You're huge!" He pointed at Goku, who scratched his cheek. "How are you so ripped?" "I sometimes exercise!" Goku said with a goofy smile. Dean held a slight, confused grin in return. "Right. Well, welcome to Gryffindor, lads. The food's nice, and the women are nicer."

Vegeta was lead down to the Slytherin "dungeons" by Professor Snape, although to Vegeta's taste, they were more like a particularly cold basement than proper dungeons.

The Prince had seen dungeons before; dingy, rusted hives of death and plague tinged with the stench of urine and iron. He remembered sitting in the center of such dungeon, surrounded by the dead bodies of Saibamen, when he had received the news of his planet -and subsequently his race- being exterminated. These were no dungeons.

Vegeta nodded curtly to Snape as he was shown to his bedchambers, a room with decorated with black, green, and teal. The room was much cooler than the rest of the castle, due its position underneath the lake. Vegeta appreciated the comfortable bed, and reclined in it, allowing his tired and stressed muscles to stretch out.

However, his relaxation was interrupted by the presence of Draco Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle, who blocked the exit to the room. "If you're the welcoming committee, then I regretfully inform you that I am already well acquainted with my room. You are dismissed, if you have no further business here." Vegeta sniffed disdainfully at them.

Draco looked outraged, and signaled to Crabbe and Goyle, wordlessly telling them to surround the uppity transfer student. Vegeta lazily stood from his bed, but the three other Slytherins already him surrounded. "You don't seem to understand how things work around here." Draco said in a dangerously low voice.

"I am the last scion of Malfoy, and I will not be spoken to in such a disrespectful way-" Draco's threats were suddenly silenced. Vegeta disappeared in a flash, suing his super speed to hit various pressure points on the boy's necks, chests, and arms. Despite moving at around half of his base speed, Vegeta was still able to neutralize the three boys in less than 0.1 seconds.

As their bodies began to slump towards the floor, Vegeta picked them up and hoisted them over his shoulder, an action that took around 0.3 seconds. Despite their combined weight nearing 275 kilograms, to Vegeta, they seemingly weighed around the same as a single piece of paper would to an ordinary human adult.

Dropping out of super speed, Vegeta unceremoniously tossed the three of them onto a single bunk bed, the posters creaking under their combined mass. "Well, now that the children are put to bed, I can get some rest myself." "I must be prepared to fight Cell, and there would be little point to seek out Kakarrot and his foolish friends now. Best wait until tomorrow. The Prince of All Saiyans collapsed onto his bed, mentally readying himself for the battles ahead.

A/N

If you believe that this is a silly idea, than you're probably right. However, in my opinion, there's fun to be had in silliness, and it's best not to take oneself too seriously.

Anyways, thanks for checking out the story, and you have a question or opinion, leave a review. I'm always friendly in responding to them. Will the Z-Fighters make it back to their world in time for the Cell Games? How will their presence affect the HP World? Find out next time on Never Tickle A Sleeping Dragon!


	2. DETENTION DEFICIT DISORDER

Future Trunks, one of the few Z-Fighters who took threats to the planet seriously, was busy training inside the Hyperbolic Time Chamber while his compatriots were taking an impromptu trip back to school.

The Time Chamber was a wonderful place to train, and Trunks lamented that he only had four months of time remaining until the chamber would be closed to him forever. He was pushing his body to the limit, practicing katas and shadow sparring in the white void of the room.

However, his exercise was interrupted by Mr. Popo, the genie running frantically into the pocket dimension through its single entrance.

"Trunks! Trunks! Come down here, I have some bad news!" Trunks glanced over at the wailing form of Mr. Popo before reluctantly walking over to the entrance of the time chamber. "What's up, Mr. Popo?" The lavender-haired half-Saiyan asked politely.

"It's horrible! Goku, Vegeta, Krillin, Piccolo, and Gohan- they've all vanished!" Popo blubbered. Trunks' azure eyes widened. "What? What are you talking about?" When Trunks was angry or confused, his normally soft voice became a staccato bark, and his alarm did nothing to soothe Mr. Popo.

"I do not know! They all sensed a strange energy around the four-star Dragon Ball, and when one of them touched it, they disappeared from the face of the Earth!" "Impossible! Have they transported off-planet somehow?" Trunks snapped. "No, Dende checked with King Kai. At the very least, they haven't died. But at the same time, they aren't in the Northern Quadrant of our galaxy any more!"

Trunks sat on the hard ground, rubbing his sore temples, dumbfounded. "Oh my God, no…I'm going to have to fight Cell by myself…." When the reality of this fact sunk in, Trunks suddenly felt like crying. He couldn't even touch Cell the last time they had battled. Trunks was confident in his new abilities after his second time round in the Time Chamber, but he was certainly banking on having help from Gohan and Goku, as well as the other Z-Fighters.

"Do not despair, Trunks." A nasal, childish voice rang from the entrance of the chamber. The light pouring in from the outside world obscured Dende's features, his silhouette like the image of the mythic guardian he was trying so hard to be. "There may be a way to change things." "Please, anything would help! I can't do this alone! If I faced Cell now, it would be just like all those losses I suffered at the hands of the androids in my time…"

"I cannot promise that this will work, but it's worth a try. Trunks, I know you've been training your body, but with your remaining time in this room, I'd like for you to learn to communicate telepathically." Trunks slowly nodded, mulling it over. "Why? Am I even capable of learning such a skill? How will it help me against Cell?" He asked questions at a machine-gun rate, only stopping when Dende held his small hand up in pause.

"You must learn to think laterally. I have a theory, and you're a crucial part of it. I believe that you, and only you, will be able to reach our friends where they are now. Can you imagine why that is?" Dende asked calmly. "I have no idea." Trunks said urgently.

"OK, now actually think about it this time." Dende condescendingly reprimanded. "Um…is it because of some quality that is unique to me?" "Yes." Dende said quickly. "Is it because I'm from the future?" Trunks guessed. "Yes, I believe so. King Kai and I hypothesized that our companions have been transported to another dimension or universe outside of the Kais' jurisdiction. It's the only explanation for why we cannot ascertain their location.

You also come from another dimension Trunks, albeit a world that is highly similar to this one. It's possible that we could telepathically power a communication channel between you and Piccolo, since you're both outsiders in the dimensions you're currently inhabiting."

"Wow, you're amazing, Dende! But why contact Piccolo specifically?" Trunks asked excitedly, his mood changing completely. "Of the five that went missing, only Goku and Piccolo are versed in the mental discipline of telepathy. Since he is a Namekian, Piccolo has an innate mastery and understanding of it, and I assume Goku was able to learn it from Kami due to the relative simplicity of his own mind. Piccolo will be easier to contact than Goku will."

"I see. So I take it that it should be difficult for me to learn this?" Trunks said. "Not really. It should easily come to you with the help of myself and Mr. Popo. And since we're in the Time Chamber, we should be able to get word out to Piccolo in a few hours. While contacting him though, we must remain in the Time Chamber at all costs. Cell knows telepathy as well, and he could metaphorically wiretap us, so to speak. The less Cell knows of this, the better." Dende explained, sitting down and crossing his legs. Trunks and Mr. Popo did the same, urgency plain in their expressions.

A few hours previously, Piccolo had found his way to Ravenclaw Tower, his new base of operations. The Ravenclaw kids were all socially awkward, and none of them bothered the Namekian as we went to his room and began to go to sleep. As he rested, however, a steady buzzing noise increased in volume inside his mind. Piccolo crinkled his eyes in irritation. _"I wonder if someone's trying to read my mind again…" _he mentally grunted.

"_Hold on, I think I have a connection, you guys!" _Piccolo was shocked to hear Trunks' voice echo in his mindscape. The Namek quickly sat up, hitting his head on the bottom of the top bunk bed. "Ouch!" he hissed, rubbing his antennae in pain. _"Trunks, it's you! How did you find a way to contact me?"_ Piccolo wondered.

_"It's a long story, but to put it briefly, I've learned telepathy from Dende and Mr. Popo!"_ As Trunks spoke inside the time chamber, Dende and Mr. Popo held their hands on each of the half-Saiyan's shoulders, lending him their power through physical contact.

Trunks quickly explained how the communication worked. Piccolo nodded, although there is no way Trunks could have possibly seen this. Soon, the Namekian told Trunks about his experiences so far in the alternate dimension, sparing no detail. _"We'll try to find a way back, Trunks. If we can't make it back in three days, then you will have to meet Cell alone. Otherwise, he'll destroy the planet for sure." _

_"Right. Cell's already spared me once before for the promise of future amusement. Do you think the same trick will work twice?"_ Trunks asked. _"It might. There are many planets out there I'm sure the disgusting insect would love to terrorize while he waits for Goku to return." _Piccolo snorted.

_"OK, you've got your business to take care of, and I have mine. I'll keep in contact with you if anything comes up, Piccolo."_ Trunks said. _"Stay strong, Trunks."_ Piccolo cut off contact with his comrade, laying on his bed and staring at the top bunk of the bed in contemplation.

However, before he could begin thinking, Piccolo saw that a piece of paper-no, parchment- was stuck to the bed. He reached a clawed hand towards the parchment and brought it closer. The document was a list of Piccolo's classes, the course name and room number printed with what time the class started at. "Oh, yeah. I suppose it wouldn't be a school without classes, eh?" He said to himself.

For a moment, Piccolo considered not even attending his so-called magical classes. There would most likely be nothing to gain from them, with the exception of possibly Divination. When he devoted further thought to it, however, he realized that there were probably penalties for not attending them, and he did not wish to waste time in detention that could be spent on something worthwhile.

When he glanced at the parchment again, he noticed that Divination would be his first period of the day. "Alright! Divination should be an excellent class!" Piccolo was looking forward for an opportunity to see the future, starting tomorrow morning. He would be gravely disappointed when he realized the truth.

That same evening, immediately after the Z-Fighters decided their electives, Dumbledore called an emergency meeting that all of the teachers of Hogwarts were to attend.

"What school did their transcripts say they were from?" Dumbledore abandoned what he referred to as his "Wise Old Man" voice, instead speaking with a far more realistic, sharp tone. "It says they're from a place called Toriyama Academy in Japan. I've certainly never heard of such a school." McGonagall responded.

"Indeed, there were so such institutions when Severus and I vacationed in Japan a few years back. Perhaps it is a new school." Dumbledore theorized. Snape, his dark robes almost blending in with the shadows of the room, visibly bristled. "Professor Dumbledore, I thought we agreed never to speak of the Japan trip ever again." Snape said shortly.

"I recall no such contract, my dear Severus. I don't know why you're so embarrassed, my boy. The pink kimino looked quite flattering on you-" "PROFESSOR!" Snape shouted while the other three Heads of House laughed uproariously at the thought of Snape in flowery women's garb.

"Speaking of surprising states of dress, one of my Hufflepuffs was forced to walk to the castle in nothing but his skivvies. He claimed that someone stole his robes." Professor Sprout brought up. "Goodness, there's one every year, isn't there? So forgetful, these young bucks." Flitwick chuckled. "Yes, well, I conjured some new ones for him and he was on his way." Sprout said.

"So, has anyone noticed that only one of our five new students is actually a child?" Flitwick asked sardonically. "Yes, that's a bit strange, isn't it?" Dumbledore said, stroking his silver beard. "Not to mention that the only child among them is in the same house as his own father! That's never happened before!" McGonagall said tartly.

"Instead of wasting our time postulating, we should simply question them under Veritaserum. What do you think, Severus?" Sprout turned her attention to the brooding Potions professor. Snape's pitch-black eyes were deep in thought. "Perhaps. However, they might be aware of Veritaserum and its properties. For all we know, they might have some defense against it. It is clear that their skills are beyond that of ordinary students. Nevertheless, I will start brewing extra stores of it right away." He said slowly.

"That would be wise, I think. I must say, I have never seen such ferociously powerful Occlumens in my life before. No student has ever been able to block both Severus and my own Legilimency before." Dumbledore now looked worried. "Personally, Headmaster, I believe Mr. Vegeta's story about being trained in Occlumency from birth is truthful. It's possible that their culture is simply more private than ours. Other than their Occlumency, they seem clumsy in the ways of conventional magic." Snape hypothesized.

"Perhaps. Do you think they're planning anything suspicious?" Dumbledore floored the question to the entire room. "That Goku character doesn't seem like he has a suspicious bone in his body." McGongall smiled tightly. "They all seem like friendly and kind people, with the notable exception of Mr. Vegeta." Sprout commented.

"They all seem to be friends, but Vegeta is nothing like them. He seems arrogant, and quite selfish." Flitwick said. "Something we also need to watch out for is for Goku, Vegeta, or Krillin to try and enter the Triwizard Tournament. They are over 17 years of age, after all. Things might get…complicated if one of them becomes the school's champion." McGonagall said crisply. "Interesting, I believe, is the word you are searching for, Minerva." Dumbledore said, beginning to walk over to his Pensieve.

"Forgive me, Headmaster, but I believe that the best way to handle these events is to simply…let them unfold." Snape clasped his thin fingers. "And do nothing? I certainly can't agree with that!" McGonagall countered. Dumbledore was now leaning over his Pensieve, drawing his wand. "I agree with Severus." The wizened warlock said quietly.

Goku, Gohan, Krillin, and Vegeta strolled down the Hogwarts lawn to their first class of the day, Care Of Magical Creatures. "Hey, dad?" Gohan asked. "What's up, Gohan?" Goku was walking with his hands behind his head, taking in the view around him.

"Shouldn't we be maintaining our Super Saiyan states? I thought you wanted to do that to train for the battle with Cell." Gohan questioned. "I considered it, but we can't just change our appearance now, or else it would draw attention. Besides, I think our mastery over the transformation is good enough for now." Goku said.

"I wonder who this Professor Hagrid guy is." Krillin thought aloud. "Who cares?" Vegeta grumbled irritably. "Come on, Vegeta, try to have a positive attitude! This'll be fun!" Goku gently reprimanded. "I'm positive that you're an idiot!" Vegeta snapped. Krillin chuckled. "Just like an old married couple." This comment from the monk earned a giggle out of Gohan.

After a short walk, the Z-Fighters saw a gaggle of Gryffindor and Slytherin students standing awkwardly in front of a rustic, one-room hut. As the Z-Fighters approached, "We Dem Boyz" by Wiz Khalifa starting playing out of nowhere, alerting the other students to their presence.

Gohan saw Harry, Ron, and Hermione and ran over to them, a bright smile on his young face. Conversely, Draco Malfoy caught sight of Vegeta and backed away in fear. Vegeta smirked, satisfied with this reaction.

The golden trio smiled when they saw Gohan sidle up next to them. "Hey, you. Have you ever taken a Care Of Magical Creatures class before today?" Harry asked, clapping Gohan on the shoulder. "No, I haven't! This should be fun!" Gohan said.

Suddenly, the door to the hut opened. An enormous, hulking man that had to be at least eight feet tall squat as he left what appeared to be his home. He had a messy, tangled black beard and wore tattered work clothes. In his huge hands was a wooden bucket of what seemed to be writhing, hissing shell-less lobsters.

"Hello, you lot! Welcome to Year 2 of Care Of Magical Creatures! S'good ter see alla you again." The man had a jovial tone and a memorable dialect. His warm brown eyes wandered over to Harry, Ron, and Hermione, who gave him each a wave. He smiled at them, then turned to Gohan. "Why, you mus' be Mr. Gohan, one of teh new transfers." Gohan gulped audibly at being addressed by the teacher.

"Um, yes sir." He said respectfully. "I'm Professor Hagrid!" Hagrid wrung Gohan's hand. Despite Hagrid being much larger than Gohan, Gohan's natural strength allowed him to return the giant's firm handshake in kind. Hagrid's eyes crinkled, which was the only way Gohan could tell that he was smiling.

"I still can't believe Gohan is so well-mannered, considering you're his father." Krillin joked with Goku, both of them standing at the back of the group. "He's a good boy, alright." Goku said absentmindedly, before briefly glancing at Vegeta, who had turned away from the class and crossed his arms.

"This is humiliating, Kakarrot. I had to refer to one of these pathetic humans as sir! Me, the Prince of All Saiyans! We should be trying to find a way out of here, not playing along with this nonsense!" Vegeta said in a low hiss.

"Piccolo's working on it. He told me this morning that he found a way to communicate with Trunks. We'll find a way home soon. Just relax for now." Goku said placatingly before turning back to the class.

Hagrid had now begun talking to the class as a whole. "Right then, today you lot will be startin' a new year-long project." Hagrid said as he heaved the wooden bucket onto the ground. "Hagrid, I don't even think I want to know." Ron's mouth was slightly hanging open in disgust.

"Sure ya do! See, these're Blast-Ended Skrewts!" Hagrid gestured excitedly to the bucket of slimy, vomit-inducing creatures. "Blast-Ended Skrewts? Is he trying to get us all killed again?" Draco huffed, some of his old bravado returning to him. "I've never heard of these, Hagrid. What are they?" Hermione asked, trying her best to sound enthused.

"I'm glad you asked, Hermione! See, I got these'uns by breeding Manticores wit' Fire Crabs-" The entire class, with the obvious exception of the Z-Fighters, burst into groans and retching noises when they heard this. "That shouldn't be possible!" one poor student cried out.

"Hagrid, I'm pretty sure that's illegal." Hermione said flatly. Hagrid put his finger to his mouth and made a hushing noise. Gohan scratched the back of his head. It did not feel like it had only been one day since he had arrived in this strange new world. "How are Manticores and Fire Crabs even sexually compatible?" Harry's glasses were precariously hanging over the edge of his nose.

"Now, ya'll will be raising these over the course of the year. Any questions?" Krillin tentatively raised his hand. "Yeah, Chinamen. What's your question?" Hagrid said.

Krillin bristled at being called a Chinamen, but he shrugged it off. "Several, actually. What do these creatures eat? When do they sleep? Do they mate? Do they hibernate? Should they be groomed in any way? When is their mating season?" Krillin fired off. "Well, I have no idea. I figured we'd jus' wing it." Hagrid responded cheerfully. "Oh." Krillin looked down at the ground despondently.

Meanwhile, Goku and Vegeta sauntered up to the barrel and roughly picked up a baby Skrewt, holding it in their hands. The Skrewts had no heads, but they did have a multitude of legs, each one sticking out at a strange angle. They were able to fit in the palms of the Saiyan's hands. "Well, looks like we've got some brave kids this year after all!" Hagrid chuckled fatherly.

Goku breathed in the smell of rotting fish that emanated from the Skrewt's body. "Mmm, tasty!" Goku raised the Skrewt into his mouth, but just before he could bite down, the Skrewt launched a spark of magical fire onto his tongue.

"Ouch!" Goku dropped the Skrewt and hurriedly fanned his burnt tongue with his hands. "Oh, dad, why must you always think with your stomach?" Gohan facepalmed while the rest of the class laughed nervously.

Vegeta looked distinctly unimpressed at the Skrewts. The Prince had come across creatures far more dangerous in his travels as Frieza's henchman. He swiftly picked up the Skrewt Goku had dropped. "Hmm, it seems this one has a stinger, while mine has…blood suckers, I take it?" the Prince intensely glanced at Hagrid, who nodded. "Thas' right. The ones with teh stingers are male!"

Vegeta nodded. "These could become impressive predators if they're already this dangerous." Without warning, he threw the male Skrewt at Gohan, who fumbled the little monster in his hands for a bit before finally catching it. Hermione squealed, leaping backwards from Gohan. Harry looked revolted as well.

"Why are we trying to keep these things alive, again?" Draco snarked, earning sycophantic laughter from most of the other people in the class. Harry glared at Draco, but inwardly, he had to admit that his rival had a point. These creatures looked like they had no purpose but to kill and destroy.

"Aw, come on, you guys! They're not so bad! Look, I think this one likes me!" Gohan said, ever positive. Indeed, the Skrewt was nuzzling into the half-Saiyan's palm, making a content clicking noise.. "Good on yeh, sonny!" Hagrid was glad that the new students seem to be getting something from the class. Ron was agape. "Bloody hell!"

Concurrently, Piccolo was trekking to the uppermost towers of the castle, discreetly following some Ravenclaws who also happened to have Divination at the beginning of the day as well.

Awkwardly climbing through a small trap door, Piccolo gazed into the Divination classroom, which was not what he expected at all. Instead of desks and chairs like a regular classroom, a bunch of tables were haphazardly strewn about the smoky room, squashy pillows and cushions being sat upon by the students.

Piccolo immediately smelt marijuana, and he crinkled his nose in disgust. _"I wonder if it's too late to get a schedule change…" _he thought as he glanced around the room, trying to find an empty table. Unfortunately, all were full except for a single desk at the front of the classroom, a lone blonde girl sitting completely still.

Piccolo awkwardly moved to the front of the room, stepping over candles and pillows all the while. He plopped onto the cushy floor with a wheeze, looking at the girl sitting across from him.

Her blue eyes were open perhaps a little too wide, giving her countenance a certain soul-peering quality. She was rather pretty, but there was something very unnerving about her to Piccolo, even though she was only 13 years old.

"The Nargles…." She whispered quietly. "What?" Piccolo said sharply. "The Nargles, they're floating around your head…" "What are you talking about? Answer me!" Piccolo threatened. Suddenly, chuckling erupted from behind him. Piccolo swiftly jerked his head to face the source of the laughter.

Another Ravenclaw student smirked at Piccolo. "That's Loony Lovegood. She's crazy, mate. Just ignore her." Piccolo frowned at him, before turning back to the girl. "My name is Luna, not Loony." Her voice was still very serene, but Piccolo noticed a steely edge creep into her tone.

"What are Nargles?" Piccolo knew he'd regret asking. "Nargles are magical bugs that burrow into your brain and make you act silly.." Luna explained matter-of-factly. "Right." Piccolo said flatly. _"Well, that's not the craziest thing I've heard lately." _

Before Luna could continue to explain the nature of the wondrous Nargles to Piccolo, the class was startled by what appeared to be a gigantic green dragonfly flying out from under the desk. It was covered in glitter and smoke, and Piccolo briefly considered burning the eldritch creature to dust with an energy blast.

However, upon further inspection, Piccolo realized that the creature was not a dragonfly, but a human female. Her baggy green shawls and scarves, combined with conspicuously magnified glasses, merely gave her the appearance of an overgrown bug.

Piccolo was forcibly reminded of Cell's imperfect form when he looked at the human. "Greetings, my young seers." She said in an ethereal, wispy voice. "As you all know, I am Professor Trelawney. Welcome to Year 2 of Divination. Now that we have finished our dabblings in the tea leaves and palm readings, we shall move on to consider the stars. The movements of the planets and the mysterious portents they reveal only to those who understand the steps of the celestial dance."

Piccolo was quickly growing irritated, but if there was any merit to be had in studying the stars, then he would learn it, regardless of how much he wanted to get up and leave at the current moment. Trelawney suddenly noticed Piccolo, her enormous, pale blue eyes widened as she drank in the Namekian's appearance.

"My dear boy, you must be one of the transfer students. I take it you have learned last year's material at your old school?" She phrased this simple question as if it were a query of cosmic importance. "Yes." Piccolo lied, just to see if she would believe him. "Ah, very good, my dear boy. You're not sick, are you?" She nodded gravely before questioning his jade skin tone. "No, I'm not sick." Piccolo growled while the rest of the class laughed at him.

"When is your birthday?" Trelawney questioned sharply. "Um…" Piccolo was caught in a predicament. In the Ravenclaw common room, he noticed a calendar on the east wall that measured years differently than what Piccolo was used to. He had no idea when his true birthday was by this world's organization of time, so he simply answered, "Today."

"Today, September 3!" Trelawney suddenly gasped, the various bangles, beads, and bracelets on her person dangling noisily. "My dear boy, you are in grave danger! The thing you've been dreading will come to pass!" _"Well, she's right about the danger part." _Piccolo had quickly decided that this teacher was not exactly wise, or even intelligent.

Smirking, he decided to ham it up a bit for the other students in the class. "I will not allow what you are predicting to happen. My inner eye-" Piccolo nearly starting laughing, but managed to contain himself. "-does not see what you do."

Professor Trelawney was taken aback. "Indeed!" She boomed, before dropping her voice to a spooky whisper. "It seems that one of us is mistaken. We shall have to have to see which of us is truly seeing the future." Luna, along with most of the class, was spellbound at Trelawney's ominous demeanor. Piccolo rubbed his temples in vexation. Things were not going as planned.

Later that day, Gohan and Krillin were carrying an unconscious Goku out of the Arithmancy classroom, hoisting him in the same way a fireman would carry a ladder. "What's wrong with him?" Hermione asked in concern. "Oh, Goku is allergic to math, and prolonged exposure makes him go to sleep." Krillin said sarcastically. Hermione held her right hand over her smiling lips.

"Your friend's disease sounds remarkably similar to boredom." She said. "No, it's a real illness, I swear!" Krillin joked. Gohan looked flustered, looking at the ground while he carried his father.

"Man, Goku's heavy!" Krillin stopped to readjust his grip on the Saiyan's legs. "Well, I have an idea that might make the trip a little easier for you. _Mobilicorpus_!" Hermione waved her hand, and Goku was suddenly floating a foot off of the ground, looking completely undisturbed. "Woah, how'd you do that?" Gohan said, amazed. "Magic." Hermione said with a laugh.

They returned to the Gryffindor dorm shortly thereafter, Goku's hovering body drawing a few stares from passerby students. Outside the Fat Lady's portrait, Gohan tapped on Hermione's shoulder. "Hey, I was wondering if you could study Arithmancy with me later. I just need some pointers in a few areas, if it's not too much to ask." Gohan asked shyly.

Arithmancy was like algebra applied to magic, so Gohan was able to get the hang of it more easily than a few other subjects. That day alone, the half-Saiyan had squeezed pus out a strange magical plant, listened to a ghost drone on about history, and began learning about Bubble-Head Charms. It was exhausting, and yet very rewarding. Magic was less difficult to pick up than the Z-Fighters originally thought, as it really only a different application of their own ki. Due to their comparatively vast amounts of energy, the warriors did not require use of a wand.

Due to their vast amounts of ki, the Z-Fighters often went overboard with the spells they were learning on the first try. When they first succeeded at the Bubble-Head Charm, Krillin created a bubble taking up the entire room, instead of simply around his own head. It ended up drenching the class when it popped. The girls were annoyed at the monk because he ruined their meticulous hairstyles.

Professor Flitwick took it with good humor, drying everyone off in a few minutes and awarding a few points to Gryffindor, whatever those were.

When Gohan had mentioned studying, Hermione's eyes lit up. "Of course I can! I'll escort you to the library after dinner!"

The sun was setting when it was time for the students to eat dinner, bathing the Great Hall in a warm orange glow. "You would've got a kick out of her, Krillin. The Divination teacher is a complete fraud!" Piccolo said as he took sips out of a water bottle.

Krillin sniggered as he ate a plate of mashed potatoes. "You don't say. No offense, but I'd rather deal with your Divination teacher than those crazy fire lobsters in Hagrid's class." The bald warrior snarked. "What do you think, Goku?" Krillin glanced over at Goku and Vegeta, who were currently competing to see who could eat the most vegetable soup. Many puns about Vegeta's name were thrown about by the considerable crowd of spectators who had come to watch the spectacle, with Fred and George Weasley at the forefront.

"To all of those who are now joining us, the score is Goku's 108 bowls to Vegeta's 109!" Fred used the _Sonorous_ spell to amplify the volume of his voice, giving the contest the air of a major sporting event. Dozens of students were cheering for either one of the two Saiyans, both of whom were slurping down bowl upon bowl of magically respawning soup.

"Prepare to face defeat, Kakarott!" Vegeta had an arrogant grin on his face, while Goku wore an expression of pure, childlike enjoyment. Down at the other end of the table, Gohan was eating with Harry, Ron, and Hermione. Inwardly, Gohan wondered if he was part of their group yet, if they truly thought of him as a friend.

_"I'm selfish to think about such things anyways. I should be worried about stopping Cell." _Gohan thought sadly. _"But this is so nice…"_ the selfish part of him whispered.

However, his despondent musings were cut short by the arrival of Draco Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle. From the glares they were giving Harry, Ron, and Hermione, it didn't take long for Gohan to surmise that the two trios were enemies.

Luckily, Draco ignored Gohan, instead holding up a newspaper and going on a diatribe about how poor/stupid/fat Ron's family members were. Ron looked like he was ready to punch the blond-haired snot, but Draco struck first, drawing his wand and shooting off a bright white energy blast at Harry.

Using super speed, Gohan flashed in front of Harry, blocking the spell with his bare hand. The spell burnt Gohan's palm slightly, but he was uninjured otherwise. Draco's group and the Gryffindor trio were shocked at Gohan's speed. "What?! No way!" Draco jumped back when he saw Gohan's stern expression. "Back off. I won't let you try and hurt my friends!" Gohan shouted.

"Hey Goku, it looks like your son is getting into a fight with some other kids." Krillin pointed out to Goku, who was now approaching his 200th bowl of soup. "Who cares! There's food!" Goku brushed Krillin off, continuing his slurping.

Trauma surfaced in Draco's gray eyes. "Oh God no; you're just like _him_!" Gohan raised an eyebrow, having no idea that Draco was talking about Vegeta. "What are you so scared of?" Gohan asked. "Don't touch me! Stay away! Run!" Draco scrambled away, Crabbe and Goyle following him. The Slytherin tripped over his robes as he ran, falling to the ground several times before eventually getting out of the Great Hall.

At the head table, Professor Moody was ready to jump in and stop the conflict, his wand out. However, when he saw Gohan block Draco's spell, he sat back down, taking a drink from his omnipresent flask. "Interesting…" He said gruffly.

Ron's expression of amazement turned into a lopsided smile. "That was wicked, mate!" Gohan blushed. "Aw, it was nothing." He said sheepishly. Harry grinned at him. "Thanks, mate." Hermione was gazing at Gohan suspiciously.

Later, when Hermione was studying with Gohan in the library, she took the opportunity to ask the half-Saiyan about what happened in the Great Hall. "How did you move that fast? I wasn't even able to see you!" She asked, peering over the Arithmancy textbook. "Oh, it's just a magic spell I learned as a part of my martial arts training when I was a young boy." Gohan explained, most of the statement actually being true this time.

"Your father is a martial artist too, isn't he?" Hermione asked, thirsty for information. "Yeah, all of my fellow transfer students are." Gohan said. "I see. It explains why you're all in such good shape, I suppose. Tell you what, in exchange for me helping you study, why don't you teach me one of the special spells you learned at your old school? I would be privileged to learn from you." Hermione requested.

Gohan mulled it over. He supposed there would be no harm in teaching her how to fly. "Sure, sounds good! I'm not a very good teacher, but I'll try my best!" She smiled. "Thank you, Gohan."

Piccolo spent almost all of his free time researching methods of magical transportation in the Ravenclaw library. To his surprise, Luna sometimes stopped by and helped him, seeming to know exactly what he was trying to look for even though he had never told her. However, despite their best efforts, Piccolo found nothing on dimensional travel. Floo Powder and Apparition were similar, but not quite the same.

That Thursday morning, the Z-Fighters met in the Great Hall, grim expressions on each of their faces. "It looks like we're going to be here for longer than we expected." Piccolo said shortly. Vegeta look murderous. _"If my wife and son die because of this, I'll never forgive myself."_ The Saiyan thought. "Any time now, Trunks should be confronting Cell. Hopefully he can convince him to leave the Earth alone until we find some way to return." Goku said gravely. Gohan was silent, feeling even more guilty that he had gone to the trouble of making friends in this strange new world.

In the Z-Fighters original reality, Trunks, Tien, Yamcha, and Android 16 had traveled to the Cell Games Arena. The alabaster-colored tile was easily visible against the green grass and wrecked military vehicles surrounding it. Cell's eyes were closed, standing stock still in the center of the ring. Trunks gulped, stepping into the arena. At the exact moment his feet touched the tile, Cell's eyes opened.

Trunks was staring into the heart of evil, and if this plan didn't work, it would mean certain doom for the entire universe.

A/N

Greetings, lovely readers, and thanks for reading the second chapter of Never Tickle A Sleeping Dragon!

This chapter mostly dealt with the business of the plot, but I tried to integrate some humor and characterization here and there. I thought the juxtaposition between Trunks' urgent situation and the Z-Fighters slice-of-life antics would be amusing.

I would like to thank all those who reviewed, favorited, and followed. It is a humbling and awesome feeling to receive positive feedback from you guys! I'll try to keep the updates coming once a week, but between writing for my other story and real-life obligations, it may be difficult. I'm sure you guys can understand.

Will Cell kill Trunks and destroy the planet? What is in store for Gohan now that the impostor Moody has taken an interest in him? And what of the Triwizard Tournament? Find out next time, on Never Tickle a Sleeping Dragon!


	3. 0 TO 100 REAL QUICK

The four remaining Z-warriors landed, taking in their surroundings. At one side of the square arena was a group of professional wrestlers and other such charlatans, led by Mr. Satan, the delusional Earthling who had tricked the whole world into believing that he was more powerful than Cell.

"I hope those idiots get out of here before they do something to irritate Cell…" Yamcha commented. Tien and Android 16 remained silent, wordlessly prompting Trunks to step forward.

"My, oh my." The bio-android looked both amused and angered. "How very disappointing that all of my amusement is gone. I was so excited for the Game to begin, and to find out that all of my favorite pieces have gone missing….I'm sure you can imagine my frustration, young Trunks."

Cell's voice chilled Trunks to the bone. "Cell, you have to give Goku more time. He'll come back home, he always does. He'll return, and he'll beat you!" Trunks declared passionately. "You told me the exact same thing ten days ago, and yet here we are. Tell me, is there any reason why I shouldn't turn both you and this miserable planet to a pile of ashes? Any at all?" Cell said cruelly.

Trunks' fear threatened to overtake him. Cell's full power was leaking out, his energy coalescing into a golden aura, the color mocking that of the Super Saiyans. "It seems as though there is nothing left for me here." Cell said, about to fly away, most likely to destroy the planet from orbit.

"One year!" Trunks practically screamed. Cell pretended not to hear him. "Sorry, Trunks. You'll have to speak up." "Just give us one year! Goku will be back before then, and he'll be stronger than ever! I swear it!"

Cell's yellow aura died down, signaling that he was considering Trunks' offer. "I am impatient right now, and it has only been ten days. To ask for a year is ridiculous!" Cell raised his voice, causing Yamcha and Tien's skin to crawl. "I thought you wanted to kill Goku? That'll never happen if you destroy this planet!" Trunks reasoned, picking his words carefully.

"I suppose some part of Dr. Gero's programming compels me to kill Goku. But then again…there are so many other planets, aren't there? I was considering touring the universe after I was finished with this disgusting planet. Perhaps I can rearrange my schedule a bit."

Trunks shuddered to think of the horror he had just set upon the universe at large. In this ensuing year, it was certain that thousands, if not millions of lives would be lost to Cell's cruelty. If Goku and the others failed to return when a year was up…Trunks shuddered to think of the possibilities.

"Consider yourself lucky, boy. You have a year of living in fear, wondering if the real warriors will return today, or tomorrow, or the next day, until finally it is too late to hope. The image of terror your face will hold when I return and destroy this planet is the only thing that is keeping me from doing it now. I hope you continue to train, Trunks, but it won't improve your chances by even a smidgen. The difference between us is incomparable. You fighting me is like a monkey fighting a god." With that, Cell took off, his flight sending dust everywhere, and bowling over Yamcha, Tien, Mr. Satan, and the television crew.

Trunks gazed at Cell's retreating form until the bio-android was completely out of sight, his golden aura fading into the stratosphere. The young half-Saiyan turned his attention to his telepathy once more, informing Goku and Piccolo of what had just transpired.

Goku whooped while Piccolo smirked. "Nice work, Trunks!" Goku said aloud and in his mindscape. _"Thanks, Goku. I'll make sure to keep training, but it seems like regular training won't be possible where you are. I'm sure homework will keep you very busy."_ Trunks said bitterly. _"We're just trying not to get kicked out. Thanks again, Trunks!"_ Goku said cheerfully before cutting his connection with his rival's son.

After Goku told Vegeta, Gohan, and Krillin of the success Trunks' gambit had, they all were relieved. Vegeta kept a neutral countenance, but to Goku, it was clear that the Prince was proud of his son. "Sometimes, perhaps it is better to live to fight another day." Vegeta muttered.

Goku, Gohan, Krillin, and Vegeta marched into the Hogwarts Dungeons in high spirits, a great feeling that often accompanied narrowly avoiding the destruction of their home planet. "Now that's what I'm talking about! This is great!" Krillin said joyfully as they rounded the corner into the entrance hall to Snape's classroom.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione were standing outside of the class door, speaking to a slightly pudgy boy with gnarled dark hair. The red and gold trim on his robes signaled that he was also a Gryffindor student.

The conversation was halted by the presence of the Z-Fighters, or "Gohan's Entourage" as Ron would put it in private. "Why, you all look cheerful this morning!" Hermione noticed. "Blimey, it looks like you guys just won a Quidditch game or something. What's the cause for celebration?" Ron asked.

The concept of Quidditch always amused the Z-Fighters. Many jokes were made about the constant saddle sores players should get after riding on a broomstick for extended periods of time. "Why don't they just use the spell that makes the brooms fly, and just use it on themselves?" Piccolo often brought up. "I dunno, maybe magic has specific rules or something." Krillin would weakly retort. "How can magic have laws? Isn't the whole point of magic that you can do things normally considered impossible by science? For Dende's sake, I'm a green-skinned alien who can fly and shoot lasers from my hands, and I'm the one asking these questions?" Piccolo then usually ended up retreating to his dorm for hours on end to learn more about the so-called "laws" of magic.

"Oh nothing, I just found my missing shoe." Gohan said in smarmy fashion. This earned a laugh from Harry. "Of course you did."

Suddenly, it seemed as though all of the joy had been sucked from the hall entirely. The Gryffindor and Slytherin students who were mulling about and talking in the hallway suddenly silenced at the presence of Severus Snape. Potions class had begun, and none were safe.

The first class of the year was about brewing a simple poison antidote, for which the students were supposed to split into pairs to work on the lab assignment. Vegeta agreed to work with Goku, although he was not about the partnership nonetheless. Gohan had partnered with Hermione, while Harry and Ron worked at across the table from them. Krillin, much to his dismay, was forced to work with some clumsy kid named Neville Longbottom.

"I hope that this rudimentary brew will not be too…complicated for our new transfer students from Toriyama Academy." Snape dissed.

Goku and Vegeta were readying their borrowed mixing materials when they heard Snape's silky voice. "Hey, watch out now. We might just surprise you with our awesome potion brewing skills." Goku said glibly. "100 points from Gryffindor for cheek, Mr. Goku." Snape whispered, earning groans from the Gryffindors around the room and cheers from the Slytherins.

Gohan and Hermione grimaced. "I'm sorry, Gohan. Snape is really unfair towards Gryffindors, he practically hates us for no reason." Harry said quietly. Gohan bit the inside of his cheek as he prepared the cauldron. "I almost feel sorry for poor Mr. Krillin, having to work with such an incompetent partner as Neville Longbottom. In fact, this merits another ten points from Gryffindor." Snape hissed vindictively.

Neville looked down in embarrassment, his cheeks flushed with shame. Krillin felt a sudden protective urge towards the boy. No matter how bad he was at Potions, no student deserved to be treated this way.

However, it seemed Gohan had beaten him to the punch, at least when it came to verbalizing his thoughts. "Leave him alone!" Gohan had suddenly shouted, shocking everyone in the room. Snape slowly turned to face Gohan, a satisfied expression on his sallow face.

"200 points from Gryffindor-" "I don't care about that! What did Neville ever do to you to deserve being treated like that, huh? Don't you see how ashamed he is? Wouldn't you feel terrible right now if you were him?" Gohan said forcefully at Snape.

Hermione clapped a hand over her mouth, while Harry and Ron looked absolutely gleeful. Snape was shocked. However, the Potions teacher understood what it felt like to be Neville very well, more than Gohan could possibly comprehend. "Detention, Mr. Gohan. Try to control your temper in the future. If you dare act out in my class again, there will be grave consequences. I don't know what sort of brutish behavior was condoned at your old school, but you find that Hogwarts actually expects a certain standard from her students." Snape's voice was so empty, it wasn't even cold.

Gohan spent the rest of the period fuming, his eyes often flashing green. It seemed as if he were one push away from unleashing his volatile Super Saiyan power. Hermione noticed Gohan's repressed rage, and took it upon herself to brew most of the potion, only bothering Gohan when she needed him to pass something to her.

Goku and Vegeta made a surprisingly effective duo at making potions, although their skills were limited to simply following the written instructions on the board. Vegeta was able to keep his disdain of his Saiyan compatriot to a minimum, as the Prince was absorbed in thought about Gohan's near-explosion at Snape.

"I'm liking your son more and more every day, Kakarrot." Vegeta muttered to Goku under his breath. "That sounded really pedo, Vegeta." Goku said blithely. Vegeta growled. "Never mind! Just pass me the goat hearts, you foolish fool! We need to mince six of them into even chunks! Make sure they're even, damn it!" he huffed.

Krillin, like Hermione, also took the liberty of making most of the antidote. Neville whispered thanks to the bald monk as he worked on the brew. Snape even marked the potion "acceptable" at the end of the class period, making Neville very happy. The Z-Fighters, as well as the golden trio, were pleased when the bell finally rung.

Everyone filed out of class quickly, except for Gohan, who was to stay behind and receive his detention time from Snape. Goku opted to wait by the door. "I'm gonna talk to him." The Saiyan said to Krillin quickly when he asked about it.

Krillin shrugged. He knew Gohan had every reason to be angry at the abusive professor, but the kid really needed to learn some self-control. Suddenly, his thoughts were interrupted by Neville, who tapped on his shoulder to get his attention. Krillin craned his neck to look Neville in the eye. Sometimes, Krillin despised his short stature.

"Hey, I just wanted to say thanks for helping me today." Neville's nose was running, and his voice was shaky. "Hey, no problem kid." "You and your friends are really nice. Only Harry has ever stood up for me like that." Neville now had a watery smile.

The emotional display was beginning to make Krillin uncomfortable. "Um, anyways, I'll see you around." Neville then suddenly left. "Yeah, take care of yourself." Krillin said after him, bemused by the Gryffindor boy who seemed to possess none of the house's finer qualities.

Gohan trudged out of Snape's office, boiling with anger. Goku frowned. He hated to see his son so mad, except when he was fighting a villain of some sort. Then it was OK. For some reason, the psychological implications of this dichotomy failed to impress upon Goku's mind.

"I'm sorry that guy was so mean to you, Gohan. But you have to control your temper. It's not OK to just fly off the handle like that, even if what you were saying was completely right." Goku said placatingly, placing a consoling hand on his son's shoulder.

"Why should I care about listening to him? He's so weak and pathetic!" Gohan's voice was black with vitriol. Goku opened his mouth in shock. "Gohan! Don't say things like that! Just because he's weaker than we are doesn't mean we're better than him. I know he's a jerk, but if he ever talks to you like that again, we'll take it to Professor Bumblebee. Remember, we're supposed to keep our heads down." Goku leaned over to meet his son face to face.

"I know you're worried about Cell. Tell you what, let's not worry about all that bad stuff right now. Let's go fishing later, son! You know there's a huge lake around here somewhere. I bet it's got a ton of tasty fish!"

Gohan often felt as though there were an angel and a devil on his shoulders when it came to thinking things through. The angel was Goku with feathered white wings and a halo. "You must forgive, and turn the other cheek!" the angel said.

However, on the other shoulder was a demon, which took the form of Vegeta with red pointed tail and horns. "Just kill everyone you don't like! That will solve all of your problems!" Vegeta's gruff voice was sounding much more appealing than his father's was…

Goku's disarming smile suddenly made Gohan feel very guilty, and the boy chose to bottle up his bad feelings, at least for now. "Sure, that sounds good, dad."

However, before the father and son could fish, they had one last class to round out the day. Gohan had heard from Hermione that Defense Against The Dark Arts (or DADA, as the students put it) was easily the most haphazard class at Hogwarts. According the her, the course's teachers only stayed in the position for exactly year before they were somehow removed from the job, usually by meeting their untimely demise, being exposed as a fraud, or a social stigma of some kind.

"How does this school even function?" Piccolo grunted as he and his four fellow fighters casually flew up the spiral staircase to the Dark Arts classroom, drawing jealous glares from the students whose human limitations forced them to climb the steps manually.

"So this class must be where the kids learn to fight, correct?" Vegeta said as he flew with his arms crossed, his overlarge Slytherin robes flapping about in the wind. "In that case, perhaps we'll find some warriors here."

"I doubt it. Hermione doesn't even know how to fly, and she's supposed to be one of the smartest kids here." Gohan said. "Still, we've seen that these so-called wizards have drastically different skills than what we consider to be in the realm of traditional fighting." Krillin noted. "They have the ability to move things without touching them, set things on fire, and transform one object into another, violating Conservation of Mass in the process! Clearly, we shouldn't underestimate them." Krillin laughed.

The Z-Fighters entered the classroom with considerable swagger, although it was brought to a screeching halt by Professor Moody. "Sit down, kids. As for your books-" Several students who had begun opening their textbooks, Hermione one of them, paused. "-you won't need them. Today, we shall be learning practically."

The students sighed, pleased by this statement. "We were supposed to get textbooks?" Krillin whispered. "Oh well, it's not like we need them!" Goku said blithely.

This seemed to irritate Moody. "Oh? And if you don't need your textbooks, Mr. Goku, then why don't you tell me about Curses? What do you know about them?"

"No clue!" Goku smiled. Moody's artificial eye stared directly at Goku for a moment, before the grizzled teacher barked out a laugh. "Aha! There's nothing to be ashamed of, laddie! Curses are usually not very well-known by-" -He scanned Goku's clearly adult physique-"-fourth years.

Our wonderful ministry seems to think that your innocent minds cannot handle the fundamental truths of magic. I say different! Many great things can be accomplished by the use of magic. Once impossible feats can now be performed trivially with its aid. However, just as it can be used for good, it can also be used for cruel and wicked ends. There are three curses in particular that are said to be capable of the greatest evils possible. Does anyone know what these are called?" Moody growled.

"Sir, we shouldn't be learning about the Unforgivable Curses yet! It's illegal!" Hermione blurted. "Professor Dumbledore seems to disagree with your opinion, Miss Granger. We go 0 to 100 real quick at Hogwarts." Moody's real eye was darting at the students, who looked either scared or excited. "Real quick." Moody turned about-face and wrote the number one on the chalkboard.

_"I like this one."_ Vegeta chuckled in his mindscape, communicating with the other Z-Fighters. _"Why do you suppose his energy feels weird?"_ Goku floored the question. _"Perhaps it is a transformation, like Frieza's. For some reason, he's using a technique to alter either his appearance or his power. Either way, something's fishy about this guy." _Piccolo theorized. _"Don't draw his attention any more. We have enough to worry about without adding this dude to the list. Don't get caught alone with him, and if you do, raise your energy so that Goku can instantly transmit to your location."_ Krillin thought intensely.

_"Right!" _Gohan thought. "Are you OK, Gohan?" Hermione, who was sitting next to Gohan, had whispered, breaking the young Saiyan's mental concentration. Gohan sighed. She probably thought he was scared of the Unforgivable Curses, but Gohan somehow doubted that they would frighten him. "Yeah." He muttered back.

"Who can tell me about the first of these Unforgivable Curses?" Moody ordered. Several hands, including Ron's and Hermione's, timidly raised into the air. Moody chose to call on Ron. "Well, there was the one, I believe my dad called it the Imperius Curse?"

"Ah, yes, your father would know about that one." Moody said appreciatively. "It gave the ministry a lot of trouble at one time, the Imperius Curse." Moody turned about-face and pulled open his desk drawer, revealing a jar normally used for preserving foods.

However, what was inside the glass container was not delicious boysenberry jam, but the very opposite. A black spider scuttled inside its cage. "So do you just keep spiders in jars all the time? How long has that one been in there?" Krillin chuckled while the actual fourtenn-year old children were slightly unsettled.

"None of your business, Mr. Krillin. Now then…" Moody unscrewed the lid, holding the spider in the palm of his hand. Ron recoiled- the ginger was notoriously frightened of arachnids. Moody drew his wand, pointed it at the spider, then muttered, "_Imperio!_"

The spider began performing a breakdancing routine on the desk, a display that was both amusing and horrifying. The spider's movements were slurred and jerky, as if it were being manipulated by invisible puppet strings. The display elicited nervous chuckles from most of the students, Vegeta one of them. None of the other Z-Fighters were laughing. Ron was looking away from the spider entirely, while Hermione, Harry, and Neville looked deeply uncomfortable.

"Think it's funny, do you, brats? Would you find it so amusing if I did it to you?" Moody snarled. The laughter was snuffed out instantly. Piccolo uncrossed his arms and sat up, his muscles taut.

"Total control. I could make this spider do anything I wanted it to. I could make it jump out of the window, drown itself, force I down one of your throats. Many wizards have fallen under this spell before. The rub is telling the difference between who's lying and who isn't. This spell can be resisted, and we shall be learning how. It takes power, though, and not everyone can afford to be hit by it. CONSTANT VIGILANCE!" Moody suddenly yelled, causing everyone except for the Z-Fighters to jump from nerves.

_"Do you think we could resist the Imperius curse, Piccolo?"_ Goku mentally asked his green-skinned friend. _"It depends on what he means by the word "Power". However, I believe we could resist it easily, if it were cast on us. However, it's not resisting it that's the problem. If someone tries to cast that spell on us, they could see inside our minds. We must not let the spell be cast on us at all costs, lest our enemy learn about who we are." _Piccolo thought.

_ "Hmph. As if some sorcerer's tricks could work on me! Even if everyone in this room tried to cast it on me at once, I would shrug them off as the common flies they are!"_ Vegeta boasted within his mindscape.

"Any others?" Moody asked. To Harry's surprise, Neville raised his hand. "There's the one- the Cruciatus Curse." Neville muttered. Despite his small voice, every word he spoke could be heard clearly by the entire classroom.

"Your name's Longbottom?" Moody sharply questioned. Neville nodded silently, and Moody did not bother him further, turning to the spider again. "_Engorgio._" The spider grew in size, until it was roughly the size of a stapler. Ron squeaked in terror, pushing his chair as far back from Moody's desk as humanly possible, cowering near the door.

"So was that the Unforgivable Curse, or-" Goku's question was cut off by Moody's spell incantation. "_Crucio!_" Moody roared. At once, the spider's legs bent in upon its body. It began to twitch horribly, and if it had voice, it surely would have been screaming.

Gohan suddenly felt queasy, feeling sudden empathy for the obviously tortured spider. Goku's face darkened; he suddenly looked angry. Piccolo sniffed in distaste, while Krillin was frowning sadly. Vegeta, for his part, was gazing upon the spell appreciatively.

Neville's knuckles were white from clenching on the desk. His head was fearfully looking down, his shaggy brown hair obscuring his eyes from view. "Stop it! Can't you see it's bothering him! Stop it!" Hermione shrieked at Moody, who rescinded the spell immediately.

"_Reducio_." The spider shrunk back to its normal size. "This spell is simple, yet unbearable pain. Being exposed to this spell for ten seconds can drive most people into shock, with fifteen seconds of exposure enough to drive anyone insane without fail. It does not require eye contact to cast, merely tortuous intent. This spell is pure evil, plain and simple. However, it is not the worst of the three curses. Deos anyone know of the third Unforgivable Curse?" Moody explained.

Piccolo was sweating nervously. _"Um…we're gonna have to watch out for that one. We can't sleep from now on, or else someone could cast it on us and extract information." _ Piccolo ordered with extreme urgency. _"Don't be so paranoid, man. This spell is probably beyond the ability of these kids to cast. We'll just have to watch out for the teachers."_ Krillin thought.

"What horrible magic!" Gohan said quietly. Beside him, Hermione raised her hand. "Avada Kedavra." She whispered. A lopsided smile appeared on Moody's face. "Yes, the last and worst spell is…" he pointed his wand at the still-twitching spider, and everyone suddenly felt a thrilling chill race up their spines-

"_Avada Kedavra_!" A flash of green light burst from Moody's wand, flying towards the spider. For the Z-Fighters, who were accustomed to energy blasts flying much faster than this, they saw the emerald light racing towards the spider at relatively low speeds.

Goku was shaken, because for the instant between Moody firing the spell and the blast hitting the spider, the pure-hearted Saiyan from Earth knew that if he truly wanted to, he could've saved that spider. His teeth were set on edge as the blast slammed into the arachnid, instantly killing it.

This caused noticeable reactions from the class, many of the boys widening their eyes while the girls clapped their hands over their mouths in horror. For some reason, many of the students were staring at Harry.

_"Would that work on us?_" Krillin asked mentally. _"Of course not!"_ Vegeta yelled in his mindscape. _"There's no way to be sure without testing it. Say, you've died plenty of times before, Krillin. Would you care to test it for us?"_ Piccolo asked vindictively.

"Not nice. Not pleasant. The Killing Curse leaves no trace, meaning that it's impossible to tell who cast the curse in the first place. For all we know, anyone who's ever been hit by this curse could have died of natural causes, theoretically. That's why it's so dangerous, and that is why you must have CONSTANT VIGILANCE!" Everyone jumped again. "CLASS DISMISSED!" Moody yelled.

"But wait, I have multiple questions-" Gohan began. "I SAID CLASS DISMISSED-"

The students abandoned all pretense of dignity and ran towards the door, pushing and shoving to escape the room. Everyone except for the Z-Fighters and Neville hurried from the room. "Alright, lads?" Moody asked them in concern. "Of course we are, Professor." Vegeta spat.

Goku, Gohan, and Krillin looked over at Neville with pity. "Are you OK, kid?' Goku asked. Neville's head snapped up, a strange look on his face. "Oh, yes, I'm good. What's for dinner, I'm starving!" Neville said a little too quickly.

"I heard it was supposed to be burgers, but I'm not sure." Gohan said unhelpfully. Krillin cast a sideways glance at Gohan. "Hey, why don't you teach me how to play that Gobstones game later? I'm curious as to how it works." Krillin laid a hand on Neville's shoulder. "Does that sound good, buddy?" Krillin said with a smile, which Neville returned shakily. "Yeah, sure."

Moody looked at Krillin approvingly. "Mr. Longbottom, why don't you come to my office for a cup of tea. Professor Sprout gave me a book you might find interesting. I thank the rest of you, but you may go on your way now." Moody nodded to the Z-Fighters, all five of them leaving the room.

Krillin paused outside of Moody's door, the monk tapping on Goku's shoulder as they departed. "I don't trust that Moody character. I'll wait outside the hallway for Neville. If anything happens, I'll raise my energy so you can instantly transmit to my location." Krillin said.

Goku nodded. "Alright, we'll see you later. That was a good thing you did for that kid, Krillin. He seems like he needs a few more friends." Goku smiled wistfully. Krillin nodded. "Thanks, Goku." With that, Krillin leaned against the wall as the other warriors walked away, Vegeta muttering under his breath about "Sentimental Foolishness".

Krillin watched his friends leave, but as soon as he turned around, Neville was already leaving Moody's office. Neville nodded nervously to Krillin, and the bald martial artist noticed that the fourth-year Gryffindor was holding a book under his arm he did not possess previously. Krillin walked with Neville, and they spent a relaxing afternoon by the lake playing Chess and Gobstones.

Back in the Z-Fighters reality, Trunks had just finished a hard training session in his father's training facilities at Capsule Corporation. Trunks had never been exposed to gravity training before his first expedition in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber with his father, but its benefits were astronomical.

Over the past few days, Trunks had attempted to use the gravity machines his father often used at Capsule Corporation, built by the genius of his mother and grandfather. Unfortunately, Trunks did not find his power level had grown very much from practicing with the training droids. The warrior from the future was accustomed to sparring with someone else, namely Gohan or his father. He supposed that he was simply not used to training by himself.

Trunks walked out of the gravity chamber, his black muscle shirt and grey sweatpants drenched with sweat. "Trunks! It's almost time for dinner!" Bulma's mother, Mrs. Briefs, hollered from inside the family compound. "Right, thanks Mrs. Briefs!" Trunks called back to her. He made the horrible mistake of calling her "Grandmother" once, and she gave him one of the scariest looks he had ever seen before. He never made that mistake again.

Trunks flew up to the roof of the compound, gaining the perfect view of the sun setting over West City. The metropolis was bathed in an orange glow, and Trunks knew that this peace was the type he would fight to protect, with or without his friends at his side. He focused his mind towards his friends in the neighboring dimension. He had found that it was easier to contact Piccolo and Goku than ever before. Like any skill, it became simpler to do as he kept practicing it, and now, he didn't even need Dende or Mr. Popo's help to use telepathy.

He spoke with Goku for about 15 minutes about possible training tactics, until Trunks finally got around to asking the question he originally called Goku about_. _"Hey, I know you didn't want to give me any specifics earlier, but I need to know. How were you able to remain in your Super Saiyan state while resting? Did it make you stronger?" Trunks asked.

_"Yes, it did. You know that agitation, that restless feeling you get when you transform into a regular Super Saiyan?" Goku said. "Yeah, I know what you mean." Trunks responded. "It's that edge to the power that we want to eliminate. It seems difficult at first because when you become a Super Saiyan, your brain immediately responds by releasing adrenaline, because it thinks that you're about to enter a fight. Your ki behaves the same way, and you waste energy by being so tense._

_ The trick is to overcome that initial hurdle, and to keep the aggressive emotions in check. I found that meditating was a good way of doing this. When your body becomes used to staying in the Super Saiyan form, your ki consumption will decrease immensely."_ Goku explained, his normally slow and simple voice becoming as patient and dry as a teacher's.

"I don't know if I can meditate. I've never done it before. Besides, I don't see how relaxing as a Super Saiyan will increase my energy output." Trunks said with skepticism. _"I could understand why meditating might be difficult for you- you're used to being stressed and alert all the time. Well, it doesn't have to be meditation. Just any way of relaxing should achieve the same effect. Try reading a book while being a Super Saiyan, and see how that goes!"_ Goku suggested. _"Besides, you aren't increasing your energy output, you're just reducing the rate of consumption so that you have more to use in a fight."_

"Well, I'll try it. Thanks, Goku." Trunks broke off the mental link and flew down to eat with his family. Trucks upon trucks of Chinese food were rolling up to the Brief's residence, boxes of food being rolled to the front door for Trunks. The lavender-haired half-Saiyan grinned as he began to bring the food inside.

The next day, Gohan met with Hermione on a stretch of lawn near Hagrid's Hut and the lake. It was late evening, and the stars were beginning to twinkle as a blanket of dark blue velvet began to paint the sky.

"It's awfully late, Gohan. We don't want to be caught out of the common room after hours…" ever the stickler for the rules, Hermione not-so-gently reminded Gohan of Hogwarts regulations. "Don't worry; this shouldn't take too long." Gohan had discarded his robes and was wearing his gi, its purple shade and soft fabric styled after the ones that Piccolo often wore.

"Now this is a unique bit of magic I learned at a young age. You're going to love this." Gohan then began to fly, his feet hovering above the ground with ease. Soon, he was five feet above Hermione's head. Her eyes were wide with amazement. "Flight without the use of a broom! Only the most powerful wizards in history have ever been able to do that!" She said with excitement.

Gohan raised an eyebrow. That description was basically the opposite of flight in his universe, where everyone could do it if they practiced it for a few days. Even Yamcha could fly, and he got killed by a Saibaman for Dende's sake!

"It's not as hard as you might think! It just requires a different application of your energy. You have to let your energy flow through you." Gohan wasn't sure how to explain flying. He had been doing it for so long that the specifics of learning the technique were rusty to him. Piccolo would be better served teaching Hermione how to fly, but Gohan knew that he had made a promise, and he had to keep it.

"I'm not sure I know what you mean…" Hermione said warily. Gohan landed on the ground and walked up to her. He held his palms up in front of her. "Once you know how to project energy outside of your body, flying should come easily to you. Place your hands against mine." Gohan said.

"W-what?" "Your hands," Gohan repeated gently, "against mine." Hermione's brown eyes met Gohan's darker orbs, and she was blushing. Eventually, however, she raised her cool fingertips against Gohan's. "Do you feel how warm my hands are? It's because I'm expending energy that manifests in the form of heat. You could do it too, if you wanted."

Hermione stiffened when she felt Gohan's energy slither up and down her arms. "I'm adding more energy now. What do you feel?" Gohan asked with a reassuring smile. "It's like the feeling I get when I use magic…but longer." she said softly. "Right, just try to remember how this feels, in this moment. It'll be important later." He said. "Will there be a quiz or something?" Hermione grinned.

Hermione held a serene expression on his face for a few minutes, and Gohan almost thought she'd fallen asleep for a moment. He gently broke off the connection, and her eyes snapped open in disappointment at the loss.

"Try to gather your energy now. Prepare it as you would if you were to about to cast a spell. Except instead of channeling it to your hands, propel it out of your feet." Hermione calmed, taking deep breaths and concentrating on the feeling of her energy flowing through her.

Suddenly, she felt a tingling, building sensation in her feet. "I feel it!" she said happily. "Wait, don't get too excited, or you'll lose control-" Without warning, a sonic boom of power exploded from under Hermione's feet, and she went sailing at high speeds into the lake.

Gohan couldn't help it; he laughed uproariously, falling onto the ground while clutching his sides. The Giant Squid, ever helpful, used an enormous tentacle to throw Hermione back onto the shore. She was miffed, and Gohan's laughter was not helping her pride. "D-Don't laugh!" She protested, he cheeks ruddy with embarrassment.

"Haha, I think that's enough practice for tonight. Let's go get you dried off." Gohan picked himself up, still snickering. Hermione huffed, but her lips soon twitched upwards as they walked towards the castle underneath the night sky.

**A/N**

**Greetings, lovely readers, and I hope you enjoyed the third chapter of Never Tickle A Sleeping Dragon!**

**This chapter was big on characterization, and I hope you guys enjoyed that. The DBZ characters are surprisingly nuanced, despite the series' propensity for cheesiness. I hope to give every character the proper respect they deserve. Even Ron. Sorry Ron haters, but I had to do it.**

**Next chapter is when things get really crazy, as the delegations from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang arrive. Now as we all know, Cedric Diggory became the Hogwarts champion in canon. However, now there are three Z-Fighters who are technically adults, and may enter the Goblet of Fire if they wish. I wonder who will be champion this time round~? By all means, review the chapter and post your thoughts! **


	4. THE CHALICE OF FLAMES

Hermione's progress when it came to flying was slow, but she was making definite improvements. "I was never very good at flying with a broomstick." Hermione explained to Gohan one day after a particularly difficult training session. "Harry and Ron are natural fliers though. They might pick up on this more easily than I." She said ruefully.

"Don't worry, you'll get there eventually." Gohan reassured her. For some reason, he didn't want to bring Harry and Ron to their clandestine flying lessons. He felt it would intrude on something intimate he had with Hermione, a girl Gohan was quickly growing fascinated with.

That's not to say he wouldn't ever teach Harry or Ron how to fly, but he didn't want to right now. He didn't want anything to change, not right now.

Over the course of the next two months, the Z-Fighters began to get used to life at Hogwarts while still keeping up a regular training regimen. Gohan was keeping his temper magnificently in Snape's class, and Goku had formed a solid friendship with Hagrid, often helping the giant with his groundskeeping duties. Goku often sparred with Krillin, Piccolo, and Gohan inside the Forbidden Forest, their astronomically high power levels keeping the dark creatures of the woods from interfering with their training.

Vegeta, ever the stubborn loner, refused to spar with his fellow warriors, instead choosing to spend more time by himself. Goku frowned when he saw Vegeta shadow boxing alone, but he left the Prince to his own devices. The pure-hearted Saiyan was much stronger than Vegeta was, due to his mastery of the Super Saiyan state, and thus was confident that he could stop the Prince if he attempted to cause trouble.

Piccolo maintained his research on magical transportation, and was trying to learn how to apparate from textbooks about the subject. He tried to perform the magical teleportation on his own, the danger of splinching mitigated by his species' regeneration factor. However, even with the assistance of Luna Lovegood, the Namekian found it difficult to get the knack of the technique. He considered trying to learn the Instant Transmission technique from Goku, instead.

The Z-Fighters, while not excelling in their classes, attacked them with enthusiasm, even the cynical Vegeta and Piccolo getting caught up in the wonder of magic. The warriors devoted themselves to their classes and training to alleviate their troubled minds of the danger of Cell.

In Moody's class, however, there came a day when they were supposed to retreat. Moody had announced that he was going to place the Imperius Curse on each of them in turn, so that the students may learn what it felt like, as well as a way of fighting it off.

"Wait, isn't that illegal, Professor?" Hermione said uncertainly as the students all stood in a line, waiting to be cursed. "Professor Dumbledore wants you to know what it feels like." Moody said gruffly. "So is Dumbledore just above the law?" Krillin asked Harry. "Basically." Harry responded.

"If you want to learn about it the hard way later when someone tries to cast it on you and you have no defense against it, then you may leave." Moody's fake eye was staring into Hermione's soul.

"Can we go then?" Piccolo raised his clawed hand, causing every eye in the room to swivel and stare right at him. Moody was taken aback; he clearly didn't expect anyone to really want to leave the room. "Very well, wimp." Moody mocked. "Anyone else care to join green-bean for a tea party while the real fighters learn how to defend themselves?" Moody challenged.

Vegeta looked highly affronted for a moment, and was about to open his mouth to protest when Piccolo telepathically contacted him. _"Don't do it, you fool. Do you want him to look inside your mind?" _Piccolo barked. "I won't leave. I'm not weak, like Piccolo." Vegeta declared. "Idiot! Shoot, I mean- yeah, sure, I'll stay." Piccolo snarled. "Good! Let us begin, then." Moody said with considerable smarm.

Krillin, Piccolo, and Gohan all resisted the Imperius Curse rather easily, although Piccolo looked ruffled for the entire class period at Vegeta's insolence. To their pleasant surprise, it did not seem as though the Imperius Curse granted Moody any mind-reading ability. Their secrets were safe for the time being.

Harry, to his credit, was nearly able to throw off Moody's control, although he nearly fractured both of his kneecaps in the process. None of the other Hogwarts students were able to resist the spell, however, not even Ron and Hermione, who were both forced to perform a humiliating square dancing routine for the amusement of the class. Ron's cheeks were the color of his hair when he was finished.

When it was Goku's turn, the pure-hearted Saiyan stepped up to the proverbial plate with a goofy smile on his face. "All right, let's do this!" Moody was amused with Goku's glib attitude. "_Imperio!_" The impostor dramatically chanted.

The air was still with anticipation, everyone waiting with bated breath to see if the transfer student could throw off the Unforgivable Curse. The seconds dragged on, Moody's expression falling in disappointment. "What? Why doesn't it work on him!?" The teacher said in confusion.

"Have you cast the spell yet?" Goku questioned innocently. "Yes, I'm quite sure I have. _Imperio?_" Moody tried to cast it again. "Haha, that feels kinda funny!" Goku giggled. "It must have no effect on him because he's so stupid!" Vegeta mocked, causing the class to burst into laughter. Moody tried to cast the spell one more time."Are you sure you don't want to jump on the desk? Not even a little?" Moody asked a small, defeated whimper.

"Not really, although I could do it, if you want." Goku replied, trying to please the teacher. "No, you fool, don't do it! That defeats the point of the entire exercise-" Moody paused to rub his temples. "You know what, you pass! With flying colors, at that! Good job, son! Now go sit down." Moody said in frustration. "Awesome! I did it!" Goku jumped for joy.

However, the strangest display of the class period was yet to come. Vegeta was the last student to be put under the Imperius curse, and his reaction was the complete opposite of Goku's.

_"Jump on that desk."_ Moody's voice echoed in Vegeta's mind. Vegeta immediately began convulsing on the floor, pained screams leaving his throat. "Oh my god, is he going to be sick?" Ron asked. "He reacts really violently to mind control, I guess." Gohan shrugged.

_"Jumping on the desk is the only way, Vegeta! You must obey!"_ Moody's vindictive tones shouted. Veins bulged across the Prince's body, and his gloved hands were clawing at his own face. "I…I refuse!" Vegeta declared. "Your business with the desk….it means nothing to me! "

_"That's amusing, Vegeta, but I'm serious! By every fiber in your body, I command you to jump on that desk!"_ Moody's orders were more frantic now, and the class was beginning to get frightened by the intense display. Vegeta twitched, standing up tall.

"No! I already told you, I won't! It will take more than head games to stop me! You may have invaded my mind and my body, but there's one thing a Saiyan always keeps; HIS PRIDE!" Vegeta's blue aura exploded as he screamed, sending every non-Z-Fighter in the room tumbling backwards. Moody was flung over his desk, and the students ended up in a dogpile near the doorway.

"Must he always be so melodramatic about everything?" Piccolo grunted, trying to stand his ground against the Prince's impressive display of energy. "Haha, that's Vegeta for ya!" Goku smiled, not seeming disturbed in the slightest.

The dust settled, and the students slowly disentangled from each other. Harry's glasses were shattered from the force, but a quick "_Reparo_" fixed them. "What in the name of Merlin's hairy ballsack just happened?" Ron's hair was blown about, giving him the appearance of a ginger Super Saiyan. "Vegeta. Vegeta is what just happened." Gohan said, shaking his head. "CLASS DISMISSED!" Moody yelled from underneath his desk.

On the 30th of October, Goku and Piccolo sauntered into the Great Hall after a sparring session, sweating immensely and wearing dirtied martial arts gis. Each warrior was ready for a heaping helping of food, or water in Piccolo's case.

However, when they entered the Great Hall, they saw the entire student body congregated at each of the tables. Krillin and Gohan waved their friends down, but before they could meet with their friends, they were accosted by Professor McGonagall, who looked distinctly stressed.

"Mr. Goku, Mr. Piccolo, what do you think you're wearing? Hurry up and change into your formal robes! And why do you smell so bad?" She fired tartly at them. "We were out training!" Goku responded. "What?" She jerked her head back once getting a whiff of the stinky Saiyan. "No! The foreign schools are arriving! They're going to think of us as uncouth ruffians. This is horrible!" McGonagall whisked away in a hurry.

"Huh. Wonder what she was so upset about." Sweat was pooling underneath Goku and Piccolo's feet. "I dunno. Looks like the new schools are coming through, which means you'll be able to enter your precious tournament soon." Piccolo ribbed. "Aren't you going to enter too, Piccolo?" Goku asked.

"I would, but technicially, I'm only 15 years old. Even though I'm a mature Namekian, I won't be able to get past the age line due to the exact wording." Piccolo said with a noticeable feeling of injustice. Goku laughed. "Oh no! What a shame! I guess that means only Krillin, Vegeta, and I will be able to enter!" Goku said cheekily before sitting down with Gohan, Krillin, Harry, Hermione, and Ron. "You smell terrible." Ron pointed out. "Ronald, that's rude!" Hermione began to reprimand Ron, but once she caught a whiff of Goku's post-workout aroma, she found herself quick to agree with him.

Suddenly, Professor Dumbledore stood up, confident that every student was settled in their seats. "Children of Hogwarts, please join me in welcoming the lovely students of the Beauxbatons Academy of Magic!"

The doors to the great hall opened, and it seemed as though beautiful orchestral music started playing out of nowhere as sensual French girls and effeminate bishonen boys sauntered into the hall, wearing criminally thin silk fabrics and robes. A cloud of sparkles seemed to surround them, such was the extent of their beauty.

Krillin, Harry, and Ron were wolf-whistling at the French girls, drooling like dogs over them. Gohan and Goku were blissfully oblivious, wondering when the food was finally going to be served. "Boys!" Hermione huffed. "At least Gohan isn't a pervert like you all!"

"Hmph. Pansies." Vegeta grunted while he drank Firewhiskey he got from a bootlegger in the Slytherin dorm. This elicited snickering from the Slytherin table. "No, I'm supposed to be the one with the snarky lines. Me, damn it!" Draco Malfoy was sulking at the end of the table, Crabbe and Goyle serving him pity ice-cream. "Shut up over there!" Vegeta shouted, surrounded by admirers. "Yes sir…" Draco complied with fearful deference.

What had surprised the students the most about the Beauxbatons entrance was the school's headmistress, a woman who was easily ten feet tall and wore a elegant burgundy dress with white frills.

"Man, she and the Ox-King would get along, huh?' Krillin joked. "She's as tall as Hagrid!" Harry said. "Greetings, Dumbly-dorr." Dumbledore courteously bowed and kissed her hand, an action that barely required him to bend over at all. "I hope to find you in good form, Madame Maxime." _"Why can't anyone ever say my name correctly?"_ Dumbledore wondered mentally.

"I am, thank you for asking. Ah, my horses-" Madame Maxime began. "Our Care of Magical Creatures teacher, Professor Hagrid, will take care of them. We have already prepared the single-malt whiskey for your steeds, as well." Dumbledore reassured. "Very good. When will Karkaroff arrive?" Maxime questioned. "Did she say Kakarott?" Vegeta perked up, nearly spilling his drink in the process.

"I believe he's here already. Students of Hogwarts, please welcome the High Sons of Durmstrang and their headmaster, Igor Karkaroff!" The swelling orchestral music suddenly mutated into ominous Latin chanting, spooking the students.

A group of sixteen males entered the hall, carrying an enormous, powerful presence with them. They wore black and red shirts and pants with fur trim. Every single one of the students was big from both fat or muscle. The sole exception was a boy- no, man- in the center of the group who was clearly lean and limber, even under his heavy winter clothing.

An older man in a white parka strode forward to meet Dumbledore. He had extremely yellowed, misshapen teeth and stringy salt-and-pepper hair. "Albus!" He said in an obviously fake friendly voice.

"Looks like we've got some tough guys…" Vegeta said sarcastically as the Durmstrang boys sat at the end of the Slytherin table. Meanwhile, the Beauxbatons students sat at the Ravenclaw table.

"Now then, the tournament will be introduced properly at the end of the feast. For now, tuck in!" Food spawned on the tables again, and Goku, Vegeta, and Gohan began to devour it.

The Saiyan's gluttony drew reactions of admiration from the Durmstrang students and disgust from the Beauxbations attendees. After about five hours of nonstop eating from the Saiyans, Dumbledore explained the rules of the Triwizard Tournament for the newcomers, and the Goblet of Fire was rolled into the Great Hall, amazing everyone in the room.

"I don't even want to know how that works…" Piccolo said, staring at the blue flame emanating from the cup. "The Triwizard Tournament has no begun. Enter at your own peril. You have one day." Dumbledore warned to all of the prospective adventurers in the crowd.

The next day, Goku had traveled down to Hagrid's Hut, intent on helping the professor with tending to both Madame Maxime's Pegasus and the Blast-Ended Skrewts, which were now forming a hard, crusty shell around their slimy membranes. The Skrewts were beginning to kill each other for food, which the students were very happy about.

Goku knocked on the hut's wooden door, only to find Hagrid wearing a truly malignant hairy brown suit with a checked yellow and orange tie. Hagrid's wild hair was slicked back with what appeared to be cooking oil and tied into a ponytail. Goku goggled, lost for words.

"Ello, Goku! Good ter see ya! Did ya enter yer name into da goblet?" Goku quickly collected himself. "You bet I did. I can't wait to see these challenges! And Hagrid, you look awesome, man! What's your secret?" Goku was not being sarcastic at all.

"Oh yeh know, a little deodorant here and there. I even took a shower! I'm gonna sit with Madame Maxime tonight when the champions are announced. I hope yer name comes out of the Goblet, my boy!" Hagrid high-fived Goku in cheers.

Later, the population of Hogwarts, combined with the delegations from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang, sat in the Great Hall. Goku, Vegeta, and Krillin stood, leaning against the wall. "So we put our names on a piece of parchment, throw them into a fire, and they'll come out at some point tonight?" Krillin questioned. "Apparently." Vegeta muttered.

"I estimate that the Goblet will be ready to make its decision in approximately one minute." Dumbledore said to placate the increasingly restless audience of teenagers. Even the professors were growing impatient, a pleasant sense of anticipation in the air.

"How could you possibly know that?" Fred and Geroge called out at the same time, earning giggles from the audience. "I just know, in my infinite wisdom." Dumbledore responded. "They're just mad because they couldn't get over the age line." Harry explained to Gohan, who was entranced with the Goblet's licking flames. "Still, those beards looked hilarious on them!" Ron laughed.

Suddenly, the bright blue flames turned a deep crimson, before spitting out a charred piece of parchment. The whole room gasped. Dumbledore snatched the parchment out of the air, reading it at arms-length by the light of the fire.

"The champion for Durmstrang will be Viktor Krum!" Manly cheers erupted from the Durmstrang congregation, and polite applause ensued from the rest of the hall. Gohan nodded. The half-Saiyan had heard much about Krum's skill at Quidditch, and the ginger-haired boy clearly idolized the manly Durmstrang student.

"Bravo, Viktor!" Karkaroff called out. Despite being chosen as Champion, Viktor Krum looked rather pissed off. He nodded silently to Dumbledore, walking along the staff table and entering a chamber adjacent to the Great Hall. Another minute passed, and another toasted bit of parchment propelled itself out of the fire and into Dumbledore's hand.

"The champion for Beauxbatons is Fleur Delacour." Raucous applause and cheers erupted from the male population of the hall, while the females were stone-cold silent, even the girls from Beauxbatons.

"Wow she's hot!" Krillin whistled as he saw the girl, with her silvery-blonde hair, pass by him. "I guess you have a thing for blonde-haired, blue-eyed ice queens, buddy." Goku chuckled. "I ain't got no type." Vegeta felt the need to comment.

The air was practically rigid with excitement now. A third tongue of flame reached towards the ceiling, this time holding the name of the Hogwarts champion. "I hope it's Goku, Krillin, or Angelina!" Hermione squealed. Meanwhile, the Hufflepuff table was starting up a chant for Cedric Diggory, while the Slytherin table responded in kind by cheering for Vegeta.

Dumbledore looked at the third piece of parchment, and he actually smirked as he read the name written on it.

"The Hogwarts champion is….Prince Vegeta!"

"NO!" Goku and Krillin screamed. The announcement was met with immediate and violent disapproval by everyone in the hall, boos and hisses echoing everywhere. Food went flying into the air, and for some reason, someone started blasting an airhorn, its shrill tones echoing in the hall.

Everywhere, that is, except for the Slytherin table, where every student in green and silver trim (except Draco, Crabbe, and Goyle) looked like Christmas had come early. They were out of control, jumping and whooping with reckless abandon. "YEAH, GO VEGETA!" They sang.

Vegeta didn't just look pleased; he looked validated. He strut to the front of the room, jumping onto the staff table before shouting, "HAHAHAHA! That's right! It's Vegeta Time, baby!" This earned even more cheers from the Slytherins.

"This is the end of Hogwarts as we know it." McGonagall looked like she was about to cry. "The Prince of Super Saiyans has risen again!" Vegeta yelled out to the crowd.

**A/N**

**Greetings, lovely readers, and thanks for reading the fourth chapter of Never Tickle A Sleeping Dragon!**

**This chapter was a little shorter than usual, but I figured the reveal of the Hogwarts Champion was a perfect spot to end it. I'll be going on a vacation to Washington DC soon (I'm running for president), so this will probably be the last update for about two weeks. **

**Vegeta is the champion of Hogwarts in the Triwizard Tournament. How often do you get to say that? By the way, Vegeta's new theme song is "Flexin On Em" by Meek Mill. I don't care what anybody says, the swag levels are off the scale!**

**How will being in an environment that feeds his ego affect the Prince? Will Gohan's presence affect Harry and Ron's fallout? Will Trunks master the Super Saiyan form? Find out next time on Never Tickle a Sleeping Dragon!**


	5. PAPARAZZI

Vegeta eventually left the Great Hall, but Dumbledore and the other teachers of Hogwarts were having difficulties subduing the agitated student body. However, within a minute of Vegeta leaving, something happened that shocked the entire hall into silence. The fire of the goblet had turned red again.

A long tendril of crimson fire slung into the air, and inexplicably, a fourth piece of parchment had been borne from the flames. "Harry Potter." Dumbledore read in a whisper that was somehow heard by everyone in the hall.

"This is getting more interesting by the second." Luna Lovegood said softly to Piccolo, who nodded tacitly. Gohan jerked his head and stared at Harry, along with everyone else in the hall. The entire situation made no sense.

Harry numbly began to stand up, as if to protest. Hermione looked scared and worried, while Ron's visage was marred by bubbling resentment. An angry buzz had begun to fill the Great Hall, students muttering waspishly at the disturbance.

"Always hungry for the spotlight…" A Ravenclaw student muttered.

"Can't he ever let any of us have the glory for a change!?" A particularly bellicose Hufflepuff student shouted.

"It doesn't matter, Vegeta will win anyways." A Slytherin leaned back smugly, drinking in the dirty looks he received from the other three tables.

"I didn't put my name in. You know I didn't." Harry said blankly. Hermione and Ron just stared at him, like everyone else. Gohan look around at them sadly, before saying loudly, "Of course not, Harry. There must have been some mistake!"

Harry swiveled to look at Gohan, his eyes glinting in appreciation. "Harry, up here, if you please." Dumbledore called. "Go on." Hermione shoved Harry slightly forward, earning a furious look from Gohan.

As Harry walked forward, Gohan leaned to privately speak with Ron and Hermione. "What are you guys doing?! He obviously didn't do it! The Age Line would have rejected him!" Gohan whispered.

"He probably found some way around it, without telling me. It's just like him, always getting the attention and the praise. They'll probably laud him as a genius for finding a way around the age line, like the precious little celebrity he is-" Ron began to mutter. "Ron! How could you say that!" Hermione admonished. "How else do you explain him becoming the fourth champion? Huh? Answer me!" Ron said. Neither Gohan nor Hermione had a response for him.

"Man, we totally got screwed, Cedric!" A Hufflepuff goaded at Cedric Diggory, a Hufflepuff seventh-year who had entered his name into the Goblet of Fire. "Oh well, there's always next time." The humble boy said bracingly.

"Nice, that kid found a way around the age line!" Goku smiled. "Um, I'm pretty sure that's not the case, Goku. Look at the kid, he looks like he's going to wet himself." Krillin pointed out. "What's to be scared of?" Goku responded glibly. "The challenges are probably pretty dangerous for a 14-year old boy." Krillin said.

"Need I remind you that I destroyed an entire army at the age of 12? These challenges should be a cakewalk for him!" Goku said. "You're a Saiyan, he's a regular human. His power level is literally five." Krillin snapped, beginning to grow impatient with his best friend.

"Wait, I thought he was a Saiyan." Goku questioned. "No! Obviously not! Where would you even get that idea from in the first place?!" Krillin bugged out. "Oh. Oh no, that kid's gonna get slaughtered." Goku said, realization dawning on his face.

Harry numbly trudged to Dumbledore's office. Viktor Krum, Fleur Delacour, and Vegeta were standing in front of the fireplace, silhouetted in the flames. Krum was staring into the fire, contemplative. Vegeta stood apart from the other two, his arms crossed defiantly. Fleur whipped to view Harry as he entered the office, her hair seeming to glow in the darkness.

"What is it? Do they want us back in the hall?" Fleur asked. Harry could only look down in shame as the adults bounded into the room, muttering excitedly. "Incredible! Ladies and gentlemen, may I present- incredible as it may seem- the fourth Triwizard champion!" Ludo Bagman clapped a hand on Harry's shoulder in what he imagined to be a fatherly way.

"What is the meaning of this?" Krum's dark and guttural voice did nothing to assuage Harry's nerves. "Two Hogwarts champions?"

"It's a conspiracy! They somehow entered two champions to increase their chances of winning!" Fleur was clearly outraged at this turn of events. Vegeta merely smirked. "I assure you, girl, I have no idea how this child found his way into our ranks. He must have fooled the Goblet. Either way, it matters little. There could 1000 other champions and this petty competition would still end with my complete victory." Vegeta declared smugly.

Harry visibly bristled, a ripple of anger moving through him. _"A child, am I?"_ he thought. Suddenly, the headmasters of the three schools, as well as Snape, Moody, and Crouch, entered the office with purpose.

Maxime and Karkaroff each took turns sniping at Dumbledore over the perceived insult, while Snape occaisionally interjected to malign Harry with a mean-spirited comment. Moody threw around conspiracy theories that no one really paid attention to, and Crouch reinforced the binding magical contract of the Goblet.

Dumbledore sat down at his desk, appearing very ancient as he did so. "There is no choice. Harry will compete in the Triwizard Tournament, and there is no way around it. Mr. Crouch, it is getting late, and I respectfully request you fill the champions in on the details of the first task."

"Very well, Headmaster." A clipped voice suddenly addressed the champions. As Crouch moved into the firelight, Vegeta suddenly noticed a strange quality, almost an impurity, in his ki. _"This school's full of mysterious folk." _The Prince shrugged.

"The first task," Crouch began, "is to test your daring. Therefore, we won't be telling you what it is. Courage in the face of unknown danger is a very important quality in a wizard." "If you weren't going to tell us what the challenge was, why did you even open your mouth in the first place?" Vegeta muttered under his breath, earning a giggle from Fleur.

"You will have no outside assistance from teachers or your fellow students during the task. You will only be armed with your wands, or in Mr. Vegeta's case-" -Crouch took note of Vegeta's lack of a wand-"-nothing. The first task will be on November 24th, in front of the student body and a panel of judges." "Oh good, I always love an audience." Vegeta smirked.

"I'm glad you're enthusiastic, Mr. Vegeta, but try to keep your snark to a minimum. That will be all for now. I'll see you all at the first task." With that, Crouch swept out of the room, presumably to head back to the ministry. Dumbledore courteously offered a bedtime drink to Maxime and Karkaroff, but the rival headmasters had already beckoned their respective champions from the room to talk strategy.

"Mr. Vegeta, may I trouble you with a drink?" Dumbledore winked. "Hmph. What do you have?" Vegeta ordered. "Brandy."

Vegeta laughed. "I suppose that will have to do." The Prince slammed down an 8 ounce glass of the caramel-colored liquid in only a few seconds, impressing the old headmaster. "Now then, I suppose you two should get to your dorms. I'm sure Gryffindor and Slytherin are already throwing parties, and they would love for you to join them." The headmaster said congenially.

Vegeta and Harry walked awkwardly in the hall. Vegeta wanted to just fly to his dorm, but he couldn't, for risk of Harry blabbing about his abilities to the authorities. "Boy!" Vegeta barked, spooking Harry. "How did you find a way past that age line, anyways?" The Prince asked partially out of curiosity, and also out of a desire to end the deafening silence between them.

"I didn't. I truthfully have no idea how my name got entered." Harry said in hollow tone. "Right. Well, if you didn't want to tell me, you should have just said so. And don't mope! It's unbecoming." Vegeta mocked. Harry looked like he wanted to talk, but something in Vegeta's expression made him reconsider.

Vegeta sauntered into the Slytherin dorm room to tumultuous applause. The Saiyan Prince was accosted by female admirers, who began to glomp him. Several students prepared glasses of Firewhiskey, for which the Saiyan was grateful. Somehow, the students had already painted an enormous banner across the fireplace mantle.

The banner was painted, and it had a picture of Vegeta peering out at the dorm's populace, a pair of tinted sunglasses on the bridge of his nose. "THE LORD OF SERPENTS AND APES" was written in green and black lettering. "It's good to be the prince." Vegeta sighed contentedly.

When Harry returned to Gryffindor Tower, he was greeted by ingratiating fans and classmates as well. Unlike Vegeta, who drank in the acclamation, Harry was quickly annoyed by it. He wished for nothing more than to go to his four-poster and have a nice, long sleep.

Unfortunately, no matter where he looked, he couldn't find Ron or Hermione, who would surely be the only people who would believe him. Someone tapped on his shoulder, and Harry almost didn't turn around, so tired was he of all the disingenuous praise he was getting from his fellow Gryffindors.

He was glad he did turn around though, because he was greeting by a reassuring smile from Gohan. "I didn't my name in the damn goblet-" Harry began, only to shushed by the half-Saiyan. "Don't worry, I believe you. Come on, you look tired. Go to sleep, and we'll figure out what to do tomorrow."

Harry nodded, grateful beyond words for the grain of sanity Gohan provided in the sea of craziness he seemed to have been thrown into in the last half-hour. When he saw Ron lying awake in the dorm, Harry began to relax further.

Ron was lying on the floor, cradling his knees in his hands. He rocked back and forth to some unhearable rhythm. "Um…are you OK, bud?" Gohan looked confused all of the sudden. "Oh hello." Ron's voice was disturbingly high-pitched. "Congratulations." Ron turned to face Harry and Gohan, causing both of them to jump back. The ginger was technically smiling, it didn't reach his eyes, making him look extremely unhinged.

"So, how did you do it? How did you get past the Age Line?" Harry looked exasperated. "Come on, you don't seriously believe that I entered my name in there! Someone else must have done it!" Ron scoffed at this. "Really? Why would someone do that?" Gohan sensed that only part of Ron's concern was genuine; the rest of emotions were a dark, bubbling cloud of resentment and jealousy.

"I dunno." Harry's response was lame, and it only served to make Ron angrier. "So, did you use the invisibility cloak? Or did you use our new friend Gohan to help you? He certainly does have a lot of interesting magic, doesn't he? I'm sure that getting around something like an Age Line is a triviality for him-" Ron was getting more and more worked up, and Gohan cut him off before he could build a head of steam.

"I don't believe Harry entered himself into the Goblet. I wouldn't have clue about how to bypass the Age Line, regardless." Gohan said calmly. "Swore him to secrecy, hm? I'm not stupid, you know!" Ron snapped. "Well, you're acting like it!" Harry snapped back. "Come on you guys, don't do this!" Gohan practically pleaded. Seeing the first friends he had ever made in his own age group fight was a hard thing for him to experience.

Ron glanced contemptuously between Harry and Gohan. "Go to sleep, Harry. I expect there'll be a photo shoot for you and your fellow champions first thing tomorrow morning." Ron pulled the curtains over his four-poster, and neither Gohan nor Harry had the heart to try and convince him further, at least until morning.

Gohan left the room, seeking out his father for counsel. However, it was too late in the evening to go to the Ravenclaw dorm, so he had to settle for Goku's advice. Unfortunately, when the despondent boy went down to the common room, he found Goku chugging Firewhiskey down a funnel, which was supplied by Fred and George. Most of the older Gryffindors were chanting and goading him on, empty bottles strewn about the floor.

Krillin was already asleep, or least he was no longer in the common room. Gohan turned on the stair case and trudged upstairs again. He never figured his paradise would collapse so quickly.

When Gohan awoke the next morning, he was glad that it was Sunday. A restless, feverish energy hummed in his very bones, and Gohan suddenly felt like a hearty training session with one of his fellow Z-Fighters. He bounded out of bed, practically running towards the door exiting the common room.

In doing so, he ran into Harry, who seemed to be in equal hurry to leave the common room. "You slept late." Harry observed. "So did you." Gohan said back. "Come on, let's go get some food and find Hermione. Specifically in that order."

Gohan and Harry did not have to look far for either, as they bumped into Hermione in the entranceway. She carried two pieces of toast on napkins. "Hello," she said. "I brought these for you two." Harry accepted the bread gratefully, while Gohan did his best not to grimace. A single piece of toast was practically nothing for a healthy young Saiyan like himself.

Hermione began to grin. "You're very polite, Gohan. Don't worry, I brought some more food for you." She gestured to the side of the wall, where she had levitated a pile of ham, omelets, toast, and fruit, as well as a heaping pitcher of milk.

"Wow, you're awesome, Hermione!" Gohan said cheerily. Faint color creeped into Hermione's face. "Here's the catch; you have to carry all of that yourself." "Fair enough." Gohan closed his eyes and focused his mental energy on the platter of goodies in front of him. "_Wingardium Leviosa_!" Gohan cast the levitation spell. Hermione offered to teach him the spell in exchange for his teaching her how to fly.

The munchies shakily hovered a few inches off the ground as the three friends ambled around the edge of the lake. A fine, silvery mist hung in the air, and the grass crunched underneath their feet. "Well, of course you didn't put your name in, Harry." Hermione said as if it were an obvious conclusion to come to, which it was.

"We can't worry about who put Harry's name in right now. If this tournament is as dangerous as you all say it is, then we should be figuring out some kind of plan." Gohan said. "Did you see Ron today, Hermione?" Harry blurted.

"Erm…yes. He was at breakfast." She said, biting her lip. "Does he still think I entered myself?" Harry asked sharply. "…Yes. He was very sullen, grumbling at everyone who got near him. Oh Harry, isn't it obvious? He's jealous!" "What?" Harry asked, his emerald eyes blazing with fury.

"Look, it's always you who gets the attention, you know it is. I know you don't ask for it, but Ron doesn't see it that way. He has so many brothers to compete against at home, and he always feels like he's being shunted to the side. He puts up with it, and he never mentions it, but I suppose this was just one time too many…"

Harry scoffed. "Great. Tell him we can switch places any time he feels like. He's welcome to it….people always gawking at my forehead wherever I go..." "I'm not telling him anything. The only way to solve this is by telling him yourself. Maybe if you guys talked about your problems, they would actually be solved!" Hermione snapped.

Gohan coughed, causing Harry and Hermione to jump. They both glanced at him briefly, clearly forgetting that he was there. "I don't know your histories. But I know this; a friend may lose his way, but a true companion will always find his way back. The reality of the situation will sink in for him eventually. Until then, we need to prepare." Gohan said sagely.

"Gohan…you don't have to help me. You barely know me! Besides, how will we prepare for the first task? We have no idea what it is!" Harry said. Gohan smiled at him, placing a hand on his bespectacled companion's shoulder. "Like I said, I don't know your life story. But to be put in a situation like this is hard enough. You don't have to go it alone, Harry."

Hermione placed a hand over her mouth, while Harry stared at the ground. "Thanks. That…that means a lot." "Don't worry about it! Anyways, I think I have a special magic spell that will help in the first task. If Hermione would demonsrate, perhaps I could show you what I mean."

Hermione gaped. "Are you sure?" She asked. "Yeah, go ahead. You can do it!" Gohan spurred her on. Hermione's face screwed in concentration, her body hovering off of the ground slowly, and with great effort. Eventually, however, she seem to be able to rest in midair. "Hermione, how are you doing that? Don't you hate flying?" Harry asked in wonder. "Yeah, but this was Gohan offered me in exchange for me tutoring him in Arithmancy." Hermione said with hitched breath.

"She's flying, using nothing but her magical power." Gohan said. "Yes, I see that!" Harry was extremely excited. "How?" was all he could manage to say. Gohan walked over to Harry. "I can help teach you. If Hermione's word is true, than you should pick this up pretty quickly. Flying will probably be useful no matter what the first task is. It's a good life skill, regardless."

He walked over to Harry and Hermione, the latter of whom had landed on the ground. "Place your hands on mine…" Gohan began.

Meanwhile, in the Z-Fighters home dimension, Trunks was sitting with his legs crossed in the middle of an otherwise empty grassy field. He was doing his best to relax to let his mind drift away while still maintaining the Super Saiyan form. However, this was difficult for him. His body was so used to stressing itself out, trying to hold onto the power of the Super Saiyan, that the feelings of serenity he needed seemed very far away.

Trunks felt a blissful emptiness deep within him. He tried to reach within it, to reach the same plane of power that Goku and Gohan had attained. Just as he was about to do it, he fell asleep in the field. Drool dripped out of his mouth as his hair turned lavender again.

While Gohan was teaching Harry how to fly, Goku, Piccolo, and Krillin were conversing on the top of the Astronomy Tower. "Great view from up here, eh?" Goku said with a small smile. "So it is." Piccolo was balancing on the topmost spire of the castle, one foot precariously standing on the tip of the tower.

"Do you guys think that Harry kid put his name in the Goblet of Fire?" Krillin asked, his legs dangling off the edge of the castle shingles. "It's none of our concern either way. The best part about all this is that the tournament should keep Vegeta busy, and therefore out of our hair." Piccolo snarled. "Hehe, you guys don't have hair." Goku chuckled, earning a glare from both Krillin and Piccolo.

"Anyways, Goku, I have a request of you." Piccolo asked. "I was wondering if it's possible for you to teach me the Instant Transmission technique." Goku scratched his hair. "Sure. Why, though? Do you think you'll be able to get back to our world?"

"Perhaps. If we pool our energy, than maybe we'll be able to transport to Trunks' ki signature." Piccolo theorized. "I can try it, but it may not work. I'll teach Krillin, as well." Goku said. "It's the closest thing to a plan we've got right now." Krillin said.

Two weeks later, The Gryffindors and Slytherins were holding Double Potions on a Friday afternoon. Needless to say, this was a horrible experience for the Gryffindors, and a highly pleasurable one for the Slytherins. Ever since Vegeta had been appointed as Champion, Slytherin House had been even more belligerent than usual. The dorm had become a cult of personality, Vegeta constantly being surrounded by tittering girls (all of whom were over 18, mind you) and admiring boys. The Prince was drunk off their glorification of him, and even while he was working on a potion with Goku, the prince constantly bragged and boasted. This did not bother Goku, who at this point was long used to the Prince's arrogant ramblings.

Harry, on the other hand, resentfully glared at Vegeta throughout the entire class period, while Hermione and Gohan whispered "Ignore him" endlessly throughout the period. Ron was glaring at Harry, Harry was glaring at Vegeta, and surprisingly, Draco was also glaring at Vegeta. "Boy, lots of angry looks being thrown around today!" Goku said as he cheerfully chopped up a carrot for use in the potion, the Saiyan having no care for social graces.

"They hate me cause they ain't me, Kakarrot." Vegeta declared smugly, casting his dark eyes around the room. All of the Slytherins, with the notable exception of Malfoy, were wearing snot-green badges with luminous red lettering. "**SUPPORT PRINCE VEGETA- THE REAL HOGWARTS CHAMPION**." The badges read. Once in a while, the badges switched frames, instead saying "**POTTER STINKS**."

The awkward lesson was interrupted by a boisterous young Gryffindor named Colin Creevey, who held the unofficial position of messenger boy for the entire rest of the school population.

"Professor Snape, I am supposed to bring both Prince Vegeta and Harry Potter upstairs." The boy squeaked. Snape's lip curled unpleasantly. "They both have another hour of potions to finish. They will come upstairs when class is finished." Snape said curtly.

"But it's for the Tournament, sir, all the champions have to go. I think they're taking photographs." Harry looked down in shame as Colin said this. Vegeta laughed evilly. "Wonderful! I was wondering when they would finally get around to our glamour shots! Come on, boy! There is much publicity to be hounded!" Vegeta said in hammy fashion as he sauntered out of the room. Harry trudged behind him, his hands curled into fists.

As Vegeta passed, Gohan glared angrily at him. Vegeta returned the half-Saiyan's gaze with mirth, smirking at him as left the room.

Colin Creevey led the two champions to the empty classroom where they were to meet. He unabashedly complimented both Harry and Vegeta as they made the journey. Harry responded to the boy's enthusiasm with sullen tones, while Vegeta soaked up the praise as a sponge would water. The Prince even gave the young Gryffindor a pat on the head before they entered the room.

After the four champions took a group photo, their wands were inspected, and then they were each taken to a private area for an interview with Rita Skeeter, reporter for The Daily Prophet newspaper. After Viktor and Fleur, it was Vegeta's turn.

Rita Skeeter was blushing heavily when she saw Vegeta, her red cheeks apparent even under her layers of makeup. "Ah, you're the Hogwarts Champion, Mr. Vegeta?" She asked. "That's correct." Vegeta said primly. "Wonderful. I am Rita Skeeter, reporter for The Daily Prophet. Come with me."

Vegeta followed her into a broom closet, causing the Saiyan to chuckle. "My, you're quite forward, aren't you? Whatever you're propositioning me with here, woman, I'm not interested." Vegeta assumed. "What? I'm sure I don't know what you're talking about~" Rita giggled demurely.

"Just get on with the interview. I haven't got all day!" Vegeta growled. She giggled again, finding his inconsiderate, rude behavior charming. A green quill flew from her pocket, poised over a floating notepad. "I don't know what that is." Vegeta responded. "I choose to take that statement as consent." Rita tittered.

"Anyways, tell me; why are you a prince?" She asked, the quill already trailing furiously across the paper. "In my homeland, my father was a king, as was his father before him. I am the last in a line of royalty." Vegeta explained as though it were obvious.

"Truly?" Rita looked skeptical. "Anyways, why did you decide to enter the Triwizard Tournament? Do you feel as though you have to live up to the expectations of your royal bloodline?" She asked sharkishly. "Not really, considering my entire family is dead." Vegeta said with a disturbing leer. Rita gasped. "Goodness gracious, how did this happen?"

"They fell victim to a horrible case of hypothermia." Vegeta said darkly.

"Do you feel as though you are honoring their memory by becoming champion?" Rita, despite seeming horribly shocked a moment earlier, now was calm, signaling that her sympathy was completely manufactured.

"I could care less, really. I hated my father." Vegeta said with a grim smirk. "Moving right along then." Rita muttered, the Quick-Quotes quill scratching out over five lines of the paper. "How do you feel about the tasks ahead? Excited, nervous?" She asked juicily.

"Oh, please. These tasks will be simple. I expect no difficulty in completing them." "Really? Please, elaborate. Do you have any special plan?" Rita asked.

"My instincts will be enough. Planning and strategy are for the weak." Vegeta said haughtily. The quill was scribbling with incredible speed now. "Bold words, Mr. Vegeta! Thank you so much for the interview, I have _plenty _to write about now." She winked and blew a kiss at the Prince, who blocked it with his hand.

Vegeta strolled out of the empty classroom, sighing. "I hate the media…"

**A/N**

** Greetings, lovely readers, and thanks for reading the fifth chapter of Never Tickle a Sleeping Dragon!**

** It is good to be back writing again after a short break there. It is with renewed vigor that I return to this story. Next chapter will be the long-awaited First Task, and I can't wait to get to it! Make sure to show some love if you like the story, and stay tuned!**


	6. CHOU SUPER DRAGON SOUL

Cell lazily flew near the planet Saturn, dimly noticing its gravity pulling on his insectoid body. It had taken two months of traveling at his full speed, and he had only reached the outer rim of his solar system.

This fact did not bother Cell too much initially. It was quiet, peaceful, in the depths of space, and as a Perfect being, Cell could appreciate the solitude. For three days after leaving Earth, Cell chose to meditate directly above the exosphere of planet Earth. He distinctly remembered looking down at the blue and white planet in contemplation.

He could have gazed at the swirling blue orb forever. Cell's short existence had been ridden with conflict and struggle; the struggle to become perfect. Against all odds, he had succeeded. He was invincible now, a god. There was no being in the universe that could match him now.

Well, he couldn't be sure about that. A dark whisper in the back of his mind prodded him about not having the opportunity to fight Goku or Gohan before their impromptu vacation to Hogwarts.

He reassured himself that he had no doubts that he could crush the father and son; they were mere Saiyans, monkeys. But he figured that he if Trunks' promise was true, he would be fighting them soon enough regardless.

And if the promise wasn't true, then he would slowly strip the meat from Trunks' bones before vaporizing his skeleton with an energy blast. A fitting punishment, he surmised, for daring to lie to the Perfect being.

There were so many more planets than Earth though, and Cell soon took off at full speed, deciding to go in a straight line until he sensed a planet with lifeforms to terrorize.

As he flew, a particular memory persisted in irritating him. Right after he had absorbed Android 17, he was about to kill Piccolo and Tien, if not for the untimely intervention of Goku. The Saiyan was in his base form, and yet somehow, he was able to dodge Cell's assaults.

He was unable to sense Goku's movements then, causing Cell to deduce that the foolish Saiyan had somehow moved instantaneously. Even after two months of experimentation, Cell was unable to force himself to move as Goku did, at least not with raw power. There had to be some way to discover the secret, it was only a matter of when.

Meanwhile, at Hogwarts, Piccolo and Krillin were, fittingly, learning the Instant Transmission from Goku in the Forbidden Forest. Since they had known what it felt like to travel with Goku as he was performing the technique, they were able to get the knack of it much faster than Goku himself was able to learn it from the Yardrat.

In only 20 days, Krillin and Piccolo were able to transport short distances of 100 meters or less, and even further if they were able to sense a powerful ki signature from outside of their normal range. Due to their lower ki reserves, the human and the Namekian got tired quickly after performing the technique. Still, it was better than nothing, and Piccolo was able to take the next step in his research by experimenting with the Instant Transmission.

The articles about Rita Skeeter's interviews with the champions were published in the Daily Prophet, kickstarting the Hogwarts rumor mill with renewed force. When Harry entered the Great Hall the next day after the interview, he found that he was receiving unwarranted attention due to the fallacious story Rita Skeeter published.

"Honestly, I would never say the things that witch published. This is slander, plain and simple." Harry explained to Gohan. Gohan was relieved at this. When he read the story about Harry and Hermione being clandestine lovers, he felt an unexplainable jolt in the bottom of his stomach.

Besides gossiping about Harry, the students of Hogwarts were equally fascinated by the audacious claims Vegeta made in his interview. Rita Skeeter deigned to report Vegeta's words as accurately as possible, unlike what she did with Harry.

Vegeta was being mythologized, his claims of superiority inspiring either blind admiration or scorn from the students of Hogwarts. "Lord Vegeta" was what the Slytherin table called him.

When Goku, Piccolo, and Krillin read the article, they couldn't stop laughing for nearly ten minutes. Gohan, however, found himself irked by the Prince's arrogance, however justified it might be. More and more, Gohan felt an undeniable itch, a crazed desire to fight Vegeta. He trained with renewed vigor, restlessness pervading his very being. He waited for the first excuse to put Vegeta in his place.

In the days leading up the first task, the school was abuzz in anticipation. Harry was making great progress in his flight training, surpassing Hermione within days, despite her having a two-month jumpstart on him.

Harry needed a good period of concentration before he could begin his whimsical swooping through the air, however. One day, Harry learned what he would be facing in the first task, courtesy of a midnight voyage with Hagrid. He would have to face off against a dragon. For a contingency plan, whenever he wasn't learning how to fly, Hermione was helping Harry learn the summoning charm, so that he may call on his Firebolt racing broom for a guaranteed avenue of flight.

Harry refused to tell Gohan about contacting Sirius or his midnight excursion with Hagrid. If the secret got out, then he would probably be in trouble with the law. To Harry's surprise, Gohan was agreeable.

"You can have your secrets. I just wanna help you in any way that I can!" The Half-Saiyan said. "Do you think we should tell your friend Vegeta about the dragons? It would be more fair that way." Hermione suggested.

Gohan laughed when she said this. "Oh, trust me. Fairness was never in the equation here." "You mean we should just keep him the dark? I know he's arrogant, but he could die if he goes up against a dragon with no forewarning." Harry reprimanded.

"Oh, that's not what I meant." Gohan said, wiping a tear of mirth from his eye. "I mean that it'll be unfair for the dragon to go up against Vegeta."

On the day of the first task, Harry numbly walked down to the stadium where the competition was being held, unaccompanied by his friends_. "How did they even get an arena this large built overnight anyways? Magic, I suppose."_ Harry dully wondered as he entered the Champion's tent.

Fleur Delacour was sitting on a low wooden stool. Her normal composure was completely gone, and she looked ashen. Viktor Krum looked extremely grumpy, far more than usual. Vegeta, seemingly feeding off their negative emotions, was boisterous beyond belief. He was practically drunk off of his own hype, and it only dampened Harry's spirits even further.

They wore tracksuits, each sporting the colors of their home school or house. Fleur's was a light periwinkle, while Krum's was a dour red and black. Vegeta's limber frame was adorned in black sweatpants and a green hoodie with the Slytherin serpent on the right breast.

Bagman entered the tent, looking almost as animated as Vegeta. He held a silken purple sack in his hands. "Now, time to fill you all in! Once the audience has assembled, you each select a small model of the thing you're about to face in that arena. There are different varieties, you see. Otherwise, your task is to collect the golden egg!"

Bagman declared this portentously, clearly expecting a shocked reaction from the champions. None of them reacted in any significant way whatsoever. "Well then, ladies first." Bagman said with much less pomp.

Fleur reached into the bag and pulled out a bluish-gray mini-dragon. "Ah, the Swedish-Short Snout." It had the number one on a necklace. Viktor Krum pulled out a red Chinese Fireball, the number three on it. Vegeta smugly stepped forward and pulled out the Welsh Green, which had a number two on it. For reasons unknown to Harry, the Saiyan smirked. Finally, Harry pulled out the Hungarian Horntail, which held the number four.

"Those will be the dragons you'll be facing, as well as the order you'll be facing them in. Now then, I'll be off, as I'm part of the panel of judges. Miss Fleur, when you hear the whistle, head out into the arena. Good luck!" With that, Bagman left the tent.

Meanwhile, Gohan and Hermione sat together in the stands, huddling close with the rest of the student body to keep warm on the cold November morning. They were cuddling under a blanket Hermione got from the girls dorm. The student body shrieked in terror when the four dragons were introduced. "Oh no, they're so much worse in person! I can't believe Harry will have to face one of these!" Hermione worried.

"There's no point in being anxious now, Hermione. We've already done the hard work, all that's left is to show off our efforts. We have a plan, and I believe in Harry. He's just as good as anyone else here." Gohan neglected to mention Vegeta, as he felt it would be demoralizing.

Goku, Krillin, and Piccolo sat near the top of the bleachers, only bothering to come to the first task because they thought seeing Vegeta on a power trip would be amusing. "Boy, these dragons are awfully small compared to Shenron." Goku said idly, turning about his four-star Dragon Ball in his rough, calloused hands.

"Oh, you should have seen Porunga, Goku. That thing was like Shenron on steroids." Krillin said, gazing at the opaline gray sky. "Speaking of which, I was reading about forms of transportation in the Wizarding world, and I came across one that matches what took us from our world." Piccolo spoke up.

"What's that?" Goku responded. "It's something called a Portkey. It's a regular object imbued with magical power, and with enough skill, it serves as a one-way avenue for instantaneous movement." "How did something like that happen to the Dragon Ball?" Goku asked.

"I don't know, but if I guess, it has something to do with Dende assuming the guardianship. He must have made some mistake when preparing the new set of Dragon Balls, and thus, the four-star ball gained this mysterious power. It's not a Portkey, but it's similar enough to one that it reminded me of a ancient magic known to the Super Nameks of old." Piccolo explained.

"Now you've lost me. What about the Super Nameks?" Goku did a double-take. "Do you mean like Guru, or Kami's father?" Krillin guessed. "Correct. Among over things, instantaneous movement was one of the talents of the Dragon Clan. Specifically, ki allocations were given to each of the Dragon Balls, so that after they were used, they would scatter randomly across the planet. This was created as a safety measure. However, I've never heard of them transporting people, nor have I heard of them being able to move across entire universes!" Piccolo expounded.

"Do you think it had anything to do with my being a Super Saiyan when I touched the Dragon Ball?" Goku asked innocently. "Perhaps. Dende's error combined with your outstanding power as a Super Saiyan might have caused a rip in the space-time continuum. A rip that is seemingly impossible to recreate." Piccolo said with grave finality. "No way…that means we can't make it back. What are we going to do?" Goku's eyes were wide, and he looked deeply unnerved.

"I contacted Trunks and Bulma this morning. They are preparing a craft to travel to Namek as we speak." Piccolo replied. "With luck, Porunga will be able to wish us back to our universe. While they travel, Trunks will continue his training to master the Super Saiyan form. Tien and Android 16 will be traveling with them as well, so they will at least have a fighting chance if Cell shows up." "It's our only hope." Krillin said seriously.

Fleur was first to tackle her dragon, and did so admirably, using a powerful sleeping hex to sedate the Swedish-Short Snout. Her performance was nearly perfect. The only issue was that the dragon snored as she snuck past it to get the golden egg, and thus the French waif found a portion of her clothes on fire. However, the problem was quickly solved with a hasty _Aquamenti_ spell.

For Gohan, the task was rather droll, but Hermione was practically tearing her hair out, screaming into Gohan's shoulder every time it looked like Fleur was in danger. The young half-Saiyan perked up when Bagman announced Prince Vegeta to enter the arena.

"Your new girlfriend did rather well, Krillin." Piccolo sniped. Krillin blushed, laughing nervously. "Haha, looks like the main event is about to start!" Goku laughed, eager to lighten the mood.

When Vegeta's name was called, he slowly strut out of the tent, leering at Harry and Krum as he did so. The Saiyan gazed impassively at his surroundings. The terrain was uneven and rocky, sharp edges sticking out menacingly from the jagged sandstone.

Vegeta's entrance was greeted with boos and jeers from the crowd, which he absorbed with relish. Only the Slytherins cheered for him, and yet their noise nearly rivaled the vast majority of dissent the Prince received.

The Prince's dark eyes scanned the Welsh Green he would be facing. He smirked when he registered the dragon's emerald scales. "Fitting, that I would be up against a green dragon. Of course, you pale in comparison to Porunga, don't you, foul creature?" Vegeta taunted the dragon.

"Did he really just insult a dragon to its face?" Hermione was absolutely gobsmacked. "Yeah, he really likes to rub it in." Gohan grumbled. The dragon roared before blasting an enormous fireball directly at Vegeta. The student body screamed in horror, believing that the champion was about to be burned to a crisp. Even some of the teachers could not contain gasps of shock.

With a wordless _kiai_, Vegeta effortlessly stopped the fireball inches before it would have hit him, the flame dispersing into harmless oxygen molecules. The dragon flew towards Vegeta, needing only a singular flap of its wings before reaching the Saiyan, who still had not moved since entering the arena.

The Welsh Green whipped its spiked tail towards Vegeta, seeming impossibly fast to the ordinary wizards in the crowd. Vegeta never lost his smirk, raising his right thumb and index finger. He caught the dragon's tail spike between the two fingers, the momentum of his reptilian assailant completely halted.

"So slow. You're dragon your feet." The crowd groaned at the bad pun, entranced at the display. "If you're a dragon, then that means I get a wish, don't I?" Now the audience was confused. The dragon drew its tail back, going for a bite instead. However, before it could eat Vegeta, the Saiyan Prince delivered a soft uppercut to the dragon's jaw, knocking it unconscious.

"In that case, I wish for you to be my dinner. Dragon roast sounds like a suitable entree!" Vegeta announced to the crowd before roasting the dragon with a ki blast. Suddenly, the smell of well-cooked meat filled the enclosure. "Wait, did he just kill the dragon? Is that allowed?" Karkaroff protested. "It was never explicitly forbidden." Crouch grumbled.

"NO! You monster!" Hagrid bellowed. Vegeta smugly strolled over the dragon's corpse before snatching the golden egg. "Boring." He said as the crowd erupted. The Prince went into the stands, choosing to sit with the Slytherins instead of his fellow Z-Fighters.

Hermione was speechless. "This is a dream. It has to be. You said you never told him about the dragons?" "Not a word." Gohan replied with a mirthful smile. "Boy, that Vegeta has his head up his ass, but I've never heard of someone dispatching a dragon so easily." Dean Thomas commented as he chewed on popcorn.

"Those were actually pretty clever one-liners, especially for Vegeta." Krillin commented. "Mmm, Dragon meat…" Goku said in a hungry haze.

After the dragon was taken to the kitchens to be prepared for dinner, it was time for Viktor Krum to try his hand at the Chinese Fireball. The dragon was especially agitated after seeing its predecessor murdered and cooked. The red dragon was quick, but with a well-timed Conjuctivitis curse, Krum was able to irritate the dragon long enough to grab the golden egg, at the expense of the dragon trampling the other eggs in the nest.

The audience politely clapped for him, but it was clear that they were still reeling from Vegeta's performance. "Yes, yes, well done Viktor! And now, introducing our final contestant, please welcome Harry Potter!" Bagman shouted.

Harry left the tent looking shell-shocked, and he had a hard time getting his legs to move. Hundreds and hundreds of faces gazed down at him from the stands. Hermione looked more worried than ever, while Gohan wore a reassuring smile.

Harry gazed at the Hungarian Horntail, the black and yellow dragon protecting its eggs fiercely. Its claws gouged the rocky ground, and its evil yellow eyes narrowed when it saw Harry. It's growling breath was highly audible, even over the din of crowd.

"Alright, I'll only get one shot at this, so I have to make it count! _Accio Firebolt_!" Harry thrust his wand skyward. Everything seemed hazy, dreamlike. Every fiber of his being hoped and prayed for the Firebolt broom's swift arrival, but the dragon was already upon him. Harry ran as quickly as he could over the uneven ground, narrowly avoiding a claw swipe from the dragon.

The Horntail let out a stream of orange fire, aiming to deep fry Harry. The boy dove behind a boulder, the flame curling around the stone. Harry held his arms around his head to protect himself, but it was for naught. The dragon swung its tail, breaking the rock and sending Harry flying into the air.

Hermione burst into tears, and Gohan was now beginning to get worried as well. _"He could get hurt if he falls from that height. Come on Harry, you can do this!"_ The half-Saiyan was poised to intervene at any second.

Harry shielded his glasses from the flying rock chunks with his arms, the stones cutting and bruising his skin. He was vaguely aware of a sharp stone edge below, and he knew that it was time to fly or die, so to speak.

A ferocious, leonine roar escaped Harry's lips. His green eyes blazed in determination, and his messy black hair rose, seemingly defying gravity. A blue-white aura surrounded his body, and his movement was arrested in midair. Harry was levitating.

"Oh, that's brilliant Harry!" Hermione yelled. "Yeah, that's what I'm talking about!" Gohan said. The crowd was impressed, even more so than they were with Vegeta. "_Bukujutsu_! He can fly!" Goku said with wonder. "Gohan doesn't make a half-bad teacher." Piccolo noted.

Harry slowly lowered himself to the ground, ready to dodge another attack from the Horntail. He was panting, even the short burst of flight tiring him immensely.

Thankfully, the Firebolt had arrived from the castle (Harry cursed himself for not bringing it closer to the arena) and swooped towards Harry. Right as the dragon was about to swipe at him again, Harry leapt aboard the broom and shot into the air. As he left the ground, he relinquished his fear and replaced it with a feeling of reckless exhilaration.

Harry scanned the arena for a trace of gold, and soon found it. _"Steady as she goes, Harry. This is just another Quidditch game. With a really ugly opposing team…"_ The Horntail released another jet of flame, but Harry swerved out of the way easily. When one had the fastest racing broom on the planet, it reduced dodging the attacks of a dragon to mere sport.

By flying in circles, the dragon got dizzy enough to the point where Harry was able to feint and grab the golden egg. Applause erupted from the crowd as Harry landed in front of the first aid tent. Hermione burst off, not even waiting for Gohan as she used her small size to weave through the crowd.

Gohan chuckled, choosing to go meet with his father, Goku, and Krillin before seeing to Harry. However, when he got to the top of the bleachers, Piccolo smiled at him and gestured towards the first aid tent. Gohan waved at his three friends before shooting off to go see Harry.

When Gohan entered the infirmary, Harry was being congratulated by Hermione, Neville, Dean, Seamus, and to everyone's surprise, Ron. Ron looked over at Gohan expectantly, nervously darting his eyes about. "Blimey, this whole tournament business is barking mad, isn't it?" The ginger boy said.

"Yeah, I'd say so. By the way, you were right about my having strange magic. However, I was using it to help Harry, not to hurt him." Gohan said. Ron's expression brightened. "No way! You don't mean that you taught him how to fly!" "Haha, that's right! I'd be glad to teach you too, if you want." Gohan magnanimously offered.

Ron was suddenly somber. "I was being a right prat, wasn't I? I'm really sorry. I don't deserve to learn how to fly." "It's OK. If there's one thing I've learned, it's that it's better to forgive and forget than to hold poisonous grudges. There's no point in being angry anymore. I forgive you, man." Gohan clapped Ron on the shoulder, and they went to meet with Harry.

"When should we tell Gohan and Vegeta about your theory, Piccolo?" Krillin said pointedly. "We don't have to tell Gohan this just yet. The kid's finally got a shot at a semi-normal life. Going to school and making friends his own age has been good for him. He deserves to live the life he's always wanted for a little bit longer.

As for Vegeta, there is no reason at all to trust him, especially with such sensitive information." Piccolo finished. "I really wish you wouldn't belittle him so much. He's not all bad." Goku defended. "I've nearly had it with your white-knighting of him!" Piccolo exploded. "Need I remind you that he's the entire reason that Cell achieved his Perfect Form in the first place!"

For some reason, Krillin began looking at the ground. "The only reason we even keep him around is for his power, and even then he causes more problems than he solves!" Piccolo snarled. Goku gave Piccolo a hard stare. "I refuse to give up on him just because it's the easy way. You weren't so different from him, back in the old days."

"Don't you dare compare me to him! I've never destroyed planets, nor have I ever tried to gain immortality!" Piccolo's points were sound, and Goku was forced to concede. "I'm sorry, that was out of line." The normally airy Saiyan was downcast. "It's alright. But can you see why I don't think keeping Vegeta in the loop is a good idea?" Piccolo said. "Yeah, I do. Still, I don't think Vegeta is irredeemable. He's a lot better than he was, especially towards Bulma." Goku said, if only to get the last word.

A slience followed. "You know what would be a good way to get our minds off this trouble?" Krillin suggested. "Getting drunk."

In the wee hours of the morning, the Gryffindors were still partying in celebration of Harry's performance in the first task. The panel of judges rated him perfect tens all around, with the exception of the sour Karkaroff, who gave Harry a measly rating of four. Piccolo had been invited as well, and he found himself enjoying the festivities, which was truly a testament to how drunk he was.

Goku had a crowd of Gryffindor sixth and seventh years around him. Empty bottles of Firewhiskey were strewn about his feet, and Goku held eight more in his hands. "You're going to love this. Trust me. What you're seeing now is my normal state." Goku chugged the bottles with a nasty glugging sound.

"This is my tipsy state." Goku drank more, beckoning for more bottles from Fred and George, who had supplied the common room. "And this is what is known as a person who has ascended past the level of tipsy. Or, you can just call this drunk." The teenagers nodded in understanding, with the exception of one particular young buck.

"Ho hum. What a useless transformation. You've lost your bowel control, so what?" The skeptical student asked. Goku smirked in response. "Just wait!" This exclamation drew the attention of Piccolo from across the room. "Has he really found a way to ascend past drunk? Is that possible?"

"He must be joking! What would that make him, double drunk?" Krillin joked.

Goku had an audacious grin on his face as a Gryffindor seventh-year passed him a funnel. "And this…IS TO GO EVEN FURTHER BEYOND!" Somehow, even while guzzling, Goku was still able to scream at the top of his lungs. The Gryffindor common room began to shake and quiver. Tables and chairs tipped over, and the students were thrown about the room by the sheer power of Goku.

"Impossible! How is he generating that much power?" Piccolo gaped. "It's…It's too much!" Krillin said while avoiding a flying chair. "AAAAAAAAUUUUUUGGGGHHH!" The screams were now of a higher pitch, and the windows in the common room promptly shattered. Suddenly, the yelling stopped. There was no more Firewhiskey to be found in the dorm.

"I'm sorry that took so much longer than the others. I haven't had much of an occaision to practice this one. This is what I like to call hammered."

And Goku promptly passed out.

**A/N**

**Greetings, lovely readers, and thanks for reading the sixth chapter of Never Tickle A Sleeping Dragon!**

**This chapter was great fun to write, from Vegeta's broiling of his dragon to Harry's triumph over the Hungarian Horntail. I look forward to showing you all the other tasks. However, the fun is underscored by worry. Cell is attempting to learn Instant Transmission, and the Z-Fighters have no way home! Would Gohan and Vegeta even want to return to their world?**

**These questions and more will be answered in due time. Tune in next time, on Never Tickle A Sleeping Dragon!**


	7. BALLROOM BLITZ

It seemed as though the pressure that had been building around the castle leading up to the first task had deflated, and an attitude of good cheer pervaded the school the morning after the task.

Vegeta awoke in his personal bedchambers in the dungeons. They were his personal quarters because his fellow Slytherins thought that their champion deserved the extra personal space. Thus, they moved their beds into the common room.

In fact, when the Prince devoted further thought to it, the devotion his fellow students were giving him seemed to extend far beyond normal schoolhood admiration. After all, it was unusual to refer to someone who was supposedly a peer as "Lord Vegeta".

Nor was it normal to create shrines, or make offerings in Vegeta's honor, or rename the house the "_Church of Latter-Day Saiyans_.". Strangely enough, a vast majority of the Slytherins had apporached him, begging for physical training so that they may look muscled, like their lord. Vegeta obliged, and many of the Slytherins had taken up punishing martial arts training. Vegeta was nearly certain that he had inadvertently become the god of a new religious cult. When he realized this, he smirked.

Now that he knew that the Triwizard Tournament would be no challenge to him or his skills, Vegeta turned his focus towards another goal. His true goal, the defeat and death of the vile traitor, Kakarrot. Somehow, the simpleton, as well as his mutant half-breed son, had discovered a way to maintain their Super Saiyan state for long periods of time. With luck, he would soon extract an explanation for Kakarrot, so that the fool may sow the seeds of his own demise.

Concurrently, the Gryffindors were waking up from their all-night party, with the exception of Goku, who would be passed out for the whole day after ascending to the super drunk status only a few hours earlier.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione had already left the common room to grab breakfast, so Gohan planned to meet up with them later. He exited the portrait hole, only to find the baffling sight of Draco Malfoy, Vincent Crabbe, and Gregory Goyle. They all looked highly frazzled, and strangely enough, they held suitcases in their sweaty, shaking hands.

"Um, hi. Is there something I can help you boys with?" Gohan said, trying his best to be friendly. "Look, you have to let us crash here! We can't stay in our dorm anymore!" Draco pleaded, genuflecting in front of Gohan. The half-Saiyan felt a sinking disappointment in his chest.

"Don't tell me; it has something to do with Vegeta." Gohan sighed. "We were kicked out of the Slytherin dorm by our own housemates! They said that we were dishonoring the great and terrible Lord Vegeta. He's taken over!" Draco said pitifully. Crabbe and Goyle were crying openly, great big tears streaming down their chubby cheeks.

Any animosity Gohan felt towards the three bullies was overwhelmed by sheer pity. "Uh, alright, I guess you guys can stay. Then again, it's not really my call to make. I'll go ask Professor McGonagall." Gohan turned away, only for his arm to be grabbed by Malfoy.

"No, don't tell her! She'll never allow it! Just give us a place to sleep! I'm begging you!" Malfoy said. _"Hmm, he doesn't seem like the type of guy who would beg so easily. Something must really be up."_ Gohan thought.

"Sure, you guys can stay here. I'd hate to leave you out in the cold." Gohan said, contrite. Draco, Crabbe, and Goyle ran into the common room like little children, stepping over the prone body of Goku on the way.

"Man, this is gonna be trouble…" Gohan went over to his splayed biological father, nudging his shoulder. "Dad, wake up." The boy said shortly. "Oh hey Gohan, what's up?" Goku mumbled into the carpet. "I'm pretty sure Vegeta started a cult." Gohan explained. "Oh, that's no good. Somebody should stop him!" Goku replied woozily.

"Yeah, I was kinda hoping it would be you. You know you're the only one of us who can even attempt to reason with him." Gohan was feeling the beginnings of a headache. "Look, Daddy's not feeling so well right now, Gohan. I'm sure Vegeta can wait." Goku then tried to go to sleep again, but Gohan persisted in his nudging.

After enough prodding by Gohan, however, Goku eventually trekked down to the Slytherin dungeons, a feeling of trepidation compounding the closer he got to their common room. With bloodshot eyes and twitching demeanor, he knocked on their door.

The chamber door opened, seemingly by itself. Goku was greeted at the entrance by a herd of Slytherin students. Interestingly, instead of wearing their normal uniforms, they were donning yellow muscle shirts with grey sweatpants. Their physical shape surprised Goku as well.

There were precious few students at Hogwarts Goku would consider to be in athletic shape. Their muscles were usually doughy and unimpressive, nourished on a diet of porridge and corned beef. The same could not be said of the Slytherin students now. They had gained definition in their arms and legs, and many had lost a significant amount of body fat as well.

Seeing a group of thugs like these might have intimidated the average student, but Goku felt nothing but confusion as he gaped at them. "So, how's it going, fellas? Is Vegeta home right now?" Goku asked innocently.

One particularly brutish acolyte stepped up to face the Saiyan. "What business would a piece of Gryffindor slime like you have with Lord Vegeta?" He said in a low voice. Goku scratched his messy black hair. "Well, he's a good pal of mine, you see." He responded.

"Lord Vegeta has no friends. You are either his follower, or his enemy. You must be one or the other. There is no in-between." Another girl said in creepy monotone. "Uh, I don't really get what you're talking about…" Goku said, shrugging.

The Slytherins grew hunched, seemingly ready to attack Goku at any moment. "Be at peace, my disciples." Vegeta called from out of nowhere. The crowd of goons instantly parted, revealing Vegeta's smug visage to Goku.

He was wearing his Slytherin garb, although unlike the other students, a black cape was streaming from his shoulders to the floor. He was in his Super Saiyan form, his blonde hair and shocking blue eyes taking Goku by surprise. A brown-backed novella was tucked in his arm, the title _"The Prince"_ embossed in gold lettering on the cover.

"Vegeta, what is the meaning of this?" Goku asked with uncharacteristic weariness. "Ah, just the clown I wanted to see! I must ask, how are you, Kakarrot, old sport?" Vegeta asked as he wrung the other Saiyan's hand. Goku frowned; something was definitely up.

"I take it you're attempting to master the Super Saiyan form, as well?" Goku asked directly, not in the mood for games. Suddenly, a dark-skinned Slytherin ran up on Goku. "How dare he speak to the master in such disrespectful tone!?" The boy shouted.

Vegeta put a placating hand on the student. "Silence, Zabini! I appreciate your sentiments, but you must learn to control yourself! After all, we wouldn't want to misbehave in such _good _company, would we?" Vegeta said quickly before turning to his entourage. "Leave us at once. You all are expected to perform your morning training as usual." When given this command, the Slytherins filed obediently out of the common room, leaving Goku alone with Vegeta.

Goku raised a quizzical eyebrow. "How did you get those kids to follow you like that? No offense, but you're not exactly the most charismatic person I've ever met." Goku said, very serious in his delivery.

"It's simple; I am finally getting the respect I deserve." Vegeta replied simply as he took a seat in a plushy armchair. "They're treating you like some sort of god!" Goku said heatedly. "Exactly. The respect I deserve. Anyways, to answer your question, yes, I am attempting to master the Super Saiyan form. After all, the transformation is my royal birthright." Vegeta said with considerable pomp.

Goku decided not to bring up that he had achieved the transformation first. "Ah, so you think that you'll be strong enough to fight Cell when we return to our world?" He asked in friendly manner.

"Cell?" Vegeta said incredulously, as if Cell were nothing but a particularly amusing sideshow. "Please. I will crush Cell underneath my boot like the insect he is for daring to mock our heritage. And then, you will be next to feel the full extent of my Super Saiyan wrath." Vegeta threatened.

"I can't wait to fight you once again after you've improved, Vegeta. I wish you good luck on your training! Speaking of which, what do you think about that golden egg? It made a horrible sound when I opened Harry's." Goku asked. "Oh, that? I'm sure I won't need to bother with it. Such children's mysteries are beneath me. I like how it looks, though. It makes a fine trophy, nonetheless." Vegeta sneered at Goku's back as the other Saiyan left the room. Goku left unannounced, not wanting to trigger Vegeta's temper.

After Goku left, Vegeta found a classroom that was normally empty, and sat in the center of it. He crossed his legs and tented his fingers. _"I must find serenity if I am to master the Super Saiyan state. Be calm, Vegeta."_ He centered his thoughts. _"Bulma, I will come back to you. I will stake my life on it. And Trunks…"_ He was thinking of his one-year old son, not his counterpart from the future dimension. _"I must teach Trunks the old ways, the true ways of the warrior. Who will carry on the legacy of the Saiyans if not him?"_ Vegeta felt a calm emptiness within him, and he strove to reach it.

Goku spent little time thinking about Vegeta's blatantly sinister movements, and later that morning, the entire Hogwarts student body was called to an assembly by their heads of houses.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, the Yule Ball is fast approaching- a traditional part of the Triwizard Tournament and an opportunity to mingle with the foreign delegation. The dance will only be open to fourth years and above, although you may invite a younger student if you wish." Professor McGonagall explained crisply to the Gryffindor population.

"So what kind of games do we play with the Yule Ball?" Goku whispered to Krillin. "It's not that kind of ball, Goku. It's a time where you can dance." Krillin sighed. "Oh. That sounds alright too!" Goku smiled.

Meanwhile, Gohan was sitting with the golden trio. Harry and Ron whispered and joked with each other while he and Hermione listened attentively to the teacher. As soon as McGonagall mentioned the word "dance", Gohan instinctually glanced over at Hermione, who was already looking at him. The nervous half-Saiyan quickly averted his eyes elsewhere. His thumbs twiddled madly, and his right foot tapped like a sewing machine.

"Yes, dress robes will be required. The dance will start at exactly eight o' clock on Christmas Day in the great hall, and will be done at midnight. "It will be an opportunity for us all to, er, let our hair down, so to speak." The statement was humorous for the students, as Professor McGonagall had never let her hair down, not even metaphorically. Even as she spoke, she wore her graying locks in a tight bun.

"However, that will NOT be an excuse to behave like a group of babbling baboons! If I hear that a Gryffindor, especially, is misbehaving, I shall be most displeased." This cowed most of the students, and the Gryffindors hustled from the room as soon as the bell rung.

Harry tried to be the first out of the room, but unfortunately, fate had other plans for him. "Mr. Potter! A word, if you please." McGonagall called after him. Gohan, Ron, and Hermione offered their wordless sympathies as he went to speak with his Transfiguration teacher.

Gohan, Ron, and Hermione waited in the outside hallway for Harry. "So, a dance, eh? This should be fun!" Gohan said bracingly. Ron turned to look at Gohan as if he had suddenly sprouted antlers. "How can you be smiling? You can't seriously be considering asking a girl to the dance!?" Ron said, trembling.

"Well, I've never been to a dance before, but I bet it'll be a good time. I always liked dancing with my mom when I was a little kid." Gohan said. Ron retched at the cheesiness of the statement, while Hermione practically cooed over how adorable she thought it was.

"Oh come now, Ronald. Gohan's got the right attitude." Hermione said while smiling. She was dismayed when Harry entered the hallway having the same disgusted countenance as Ron.

"McGonagall says that I have to find a date for the dance." Harry said in abject terror. His three friends laughed, but Gohan was slightly confused. _"Why don't either of them just ask Hermione?_" He thought. _"Well, maybe she'd like to go to the dance with me! I'll ask her tonight!"_

Meanwhile, Professor Snape was giving a similar spiel as McGonagall's to the Slytherin students. To the potions master's surprise, the students were refusing to wear their uniforms, donning gym clothes instead. To Snape's further surprise, no matter how many points he took away or detentions he bestowed, the Slytherins refused to take off their new clothes.

However, he still had a professional attitude to maintain, and he delivered the announcement of the Yule Ball with his signature detachment. "…And to any students who may be planning any pranks or horseplay….know this; anyone who besmirches the name of Salazar's house will suffer my wrath. Personally. Any questions?"

There were none. This was because most of the students had fallen asleep. Due to Snape's extended pronunciations, the Slytherin assembly was longer than the other three house meetings combined. Vegeta chose to play along, although he certainly didn't plan on attending the ball himself. That is, until Snape laid a hand on the Prince's shoulder.

"Mr. Vegeta, I like what you did with your hair. Also, I'm fairly certain that you started a cult in my house." Snape hissed. Vegeta turned around just enough so that Snape could see one of his sea-green eyes.

"Take your hand off of me at once." The Saiyan Prince said in a dark voice. Snape did not do so. "Explain your actions. How did you brainwash hundreds of wizards at once? Even the Dark Lord at the peak of his power-"

"Do not compare me to your paltry wizards, for I am like no other. However, I did not brainwash any of your precious students. They chose to follow me of their own free will. You see, the Church of Latter Day Saiyans is an enlightened cult that respects the individuality of its members." Vegeta smirked.

"Don't give me that rubbish! If you do not disband your little club at once, I will take this matter to the headmaster." Snape threatened. "I am not afraid of him." Vegeta responded immediately. "He has powers even beyond you." Snape said. Vegeta scoffed at the ludicrous statement.

Vegeta exchanged a hard glare with Snape for a moment before the prince closed his eyes in amusement. "Hmph. I will ask them not to be so fanatical in the future. However, it is not because of your ridiculous threats that I do so. I simply grow bored of their constant, smothering attention." Vegeta said haughtily.

"You are perhaps the most Slytherin student I have ever had the displeasure of having under my charge." Snape said. "I'll take that as a compliment." Vegeta said. "By the way, you have to get a dance partner for the Yule Ball." Snape said with vindictive pleasure. Vegeta's frown deepened.

Gohan braced himself when he and his friends returned to the Gryffindor common room, as he did not tell them of their new guests. When Harry saw Draco Malfoy sprawled out on the couch closest to the fireplace, he very nearly vomited.

" By Merlin's Armpit Hair, that's a horrible surprise. And what exactly do you think you're doing in our common room, Malfoy?" Ron said with extreme hostility. "Why, didn't you get the news, Weaselby? Crabbe, Goyle, and I are crashing here for the time being!"

Hermione's voice had grown dangerously shrill. "Who is responsible for this?" Her voice made even Draco's skin crawl. "Now, Hermione, I can explain-" Gohan began to raise his hands in a quelling gesture, but Hermione rounded on him immediately.

"YOU LET HIM INTO OUR DORM?!" She yelled. Harry and Ron began to chuckle. "Surreal, seeing her chew out someone else for a change." Ron sniggered. Draco smirked while placing his arms behind his head on the sofa.

"But Hermione, he didn't have anywhere else to go!" Gohan protested weakly. She stepped back, her anger momentarily being surpassed by sheer confusion. "What do you mean?" She asked.

"It's our beloved champion, Prince Vegeta. He's taken over the Slytherin House and turned it into some sort of dojo. We were cast out by our own dormmates. Said something about our lack of faith." Draco spoke up with a small degree of sadness.

"Surely you've already complained to your father about being exiled from your own house?" Harry said viciously, having no sympathy for Draco at all. "Or maybe Daddy wouldn't like to hear about the noble scion of Malfoy being forced to quarter with dirty Gryffindors, hmm?"

"Wait, that Vegeta bloke started a religion? I figured he was cocky, but not to this extreme!" Ron said. "I don't think he did it intentionally, believe it or not. My dad went to go talk to him this morning and he even said as much. I don't know if I believe that though." Gohan said.

"Actually, it makes sense. The Slytherin House, throughout its history, has produced a lot of leaders. Most of them were evil, highly ambitious, and powerful. Since the house was built on those three pillars, students who exemplify it to a certain degree would rise to a position of leadership in the dorm. Does Vegeta fit any of these descriptors?" Hermione explained. "All three to the largest degree possible." Gohan replied.

"And there is the answer. Malfoy, you may stay here, but there will be no problems. Am I clear?" Hermione said strictly. "Yeah, no problems, or else Hermione will give you another knuckle sandwich!' Ron laughed. Draco bristled, but obeyed.

That night, the first snow of the year fell on Hogwarts, and Harry, Gohan, Ron, and Hermione bundled up in warm cloaks before heading outside to help Ron with his flying practice.

Ron was an enthusiastic and dedicated student, and Gohan enjoyed teaching him the basics of ki. In terms of skill, he was an intermediary between Harry and Hermione. He wasn't quite at home in the air like Harry was, but the ginger was able to carry himself with grace nonetheless.

"Finally, I can do something none of my other siblings can do! This is awesome!" Ron exclaimed happily. Gohan grinned at him in pride. It was well past dark when they finally went back into the castle. They ran into Draco again and as Harry and Ron began to bicker with him, Gohan leaned in to whisper in Hermione's ear.

"Would you like to come to the ball with me?" He asked. Hermione gasped, her cheeks flushed. She briefly glanced over to Ron, before meeting Gohan's eyes. "I'd love to!" She said faintly. "Alright, awesome. Now I just need to find some dress robes!" Gohan said a little more loudly.

Draco laughed at Gohan. "Ha! You Gryffindor plebians can't even afford dress robes! Then again, compared to great-aunt Tessie's shower curtains, I suppose Gohan got off light!" "Shut it, Malfoy!" Ron said hotly, not hearing anything of Gohan and Hermione's exchange. "He actually has a point on that one, Ron." Harry laughed in spite of himself.

The next day, Piccolo, who had been stewing in his room in depression, made Gohan a tuxedo using his Clothes Beam. "That is still your most metro attack." Gohan commented. "Indeed." Piccolo grunted as he held up the black suit for his son.

"I'm kinda nervous about this, Mr. Piccolo. I've never danced with a girl before!" Gohan worried. Normally, Piccolo had no patience for such "mushy stuff", as he put it. However, his fondness for Gohan outweighed his annoyance, and he even spared a small smile for the boy.

"It's something every human boy must do before he becomes a man. Just be confident, and you'll be fine. Then again, I am a sentient plant, so any romantic advice I give you should be taken with a grain of salt." Piccolo said gruffly. "I appreciate it anyways, Mr. Piccolo! Say, that reminds of something I was meaning to ask you. How did my parents meet? Was it romantic?" Gohan asked. "No." Piccolo responded. "No, it wasn't."

December flew by, and Harry and Ron's search for dance partners became increasingly frantic. Harry had his eye on the attractive Ravenclaw Cho Chang, but she was always hanging out with an impenetrable gang of other females, making his progress minimal.

He finally worked up the courage to ask her to the ball, only to find that she had already been spoken for by Cedric Diggory, of all people. He walked back to the Gryffindor common room in dejection, seeing Ron in a similar situation. His friend was moping in the corner, his sister Ginny talking to him in a soothing voice.

Harry approached his ashen-faced friend. "What happened?" He asked numbly. "Ron asked Fleur Delacour to the ball. I don't know what made him believe that was a good idea." Ginny snarked. Ron explained the situation to a growing crowd of Gryffindors, Draco and his goons stopping by to listen as well. Goku and Krillin, bored, also wandered by.

"You'll never believe who Neville asked to the ball, though. Hermione!" Ron said, hoping to deflect some of the crowd's mockery onto Neville. "He said that she was really nice, always helping him with his work and whatnot- then she ended up turning him down, said that she was already going with someone else." Ron explained, some of the color coming back to him.

"Hey Goku, word on the street is that Gohan asked that Hermione girl to the prom, or whatever they call it here." Krillin said offhand. "Oh, really? Wow, my son is growing up so fast! They seem like they'll make a great couple." Goku said happily. _"Yeah, it's just a shame that he's gonna have to leave her behind once we find a way back to our world. Poor kid."_ Krillin thought sadly.

Hermione entered the common room with a large stack of homework. She looked very stressed. "Oy, Hermione- you're a girl." Ron said. "Yes, that's correct, Ronald." She said in a clipped voice. "Why don't you go to the ball with Harry, or me?" Ron asked boorishly.

"I can't come with you," she said, "I am already going with someone else." She then trudged up to the girl's sleeping quarters. "She's lying." Ron said with absolute certainty. "No, she isn't." Ginny said with exasperation. "What? Well, who is she going with, then?" Ron asked sharply. "I'm not telling you, it's her business." Ginny responded.

"Ouch! Shot down by Granger, how humiliating is that?!" Draco laughed. "SHUT UP, MALFOY." The other twenty-five students in the room shouted. Harry took a deep breath, wondering who he would take to the ball. He decided then and there that he would just ask the next girl he saw.

At that moment, Parvati Patil and Lavender Brown, two rather ditzy girls in Harry's grade, walked through the portrait hole. Harry didn't particularly like them, but they weren't horrible people by any means. He walked directly up to the Indian girl and asked in businesslike tone, "Parvati, would you like to go to the ball with me?"

After roughly five minutes of giggling and blushing on Parvati and Lavender's part, Parvati accepted Harry's offer while also agreeing to set up Ron with her sister, Padma. After the girls left, Harry and Ron went down to dinner, commiserating all the while.

Meanwhile, Fleur Delacour was walking through the entrance courtyard to the Beauxbatons carriage, accompanied by her standard entourage of twenty other girls. They were heading to their bedrooms to turn in for the evening when suddenly, a lone figure stopped them in their tracks.

"Which one of you is Fleur Delacour?" Vegeta questioned impatiently. "Why should we tell you anything, you creep?!" One of the girls said snobbishly. "It is fine, girls." Fleur parted the barrier of people around her and faced Vegeta. Both champions wore proud, sneering demeanors.

"What do you want, Mr. Vegeta?" Fleur asked. "Oh, nothing extreme, I assure you. Now, as a champion, we both are obligated to find a date for this Yule Ball nonsense. Now, from what I have been told, I hear that you find none of the mongrels around here up to your impossibly high standards." Vegeta said gruffly.

"This is true. Also, I like what you did with your hair." Fleur said. "Thank you, I find the look to suit me as well. Anyways, since neither of us want to participate in this garbage, I suggest we sign up to be partners. Then, we can get the token amount of dancing required out of the way and move on with our lives from there. Deal?" Vegeta asked shortly.

Fleur raked her eyes up and down Vegeta's incredibly muscular frame. She looked at his electric blue eyes for a moment before shaking his gloved hand and saying, "Deal."

Christmas Day finally came, and with it, the day of the ball. Goku, Gohan, and Krillin came down to the common room to find the Gryffindor children (and Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle) opening their Christmas presents. The Z-Fighters were bemused to find that they, too, had presents underneath the tree.

"So what exactly is Christmas, anyways?" Krillin asked. "Ah, I bet they don't celebrate Christmas over in China, do they, laddie?" Seamus goaded. "Well…no." Krillin sighed, not even bothering to correct him.

"It's a holiday where we celebrate friends, family, and stuff like that by giving each other gifts. It's also characterized by music, lights, and a special meal which we'll be having with the teachers at lunch." Dean explained as he examined the new West Ham poster he got from Harry.

"Oh, I see. Sorry we didn't get you guys anything, it's just that we don't have something like this in our world- I mean country." Gohan stammered. "Don't worry about it, lads. Come on and open your gifts, before they get cold." Dean waved it off.

The Z-Fighters got generous presents from the friends they had made at Hogwarts. Goku had received oodles of food, Firewhiskey, and novelty items from Fred and George, as well as a book titled _Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them_ from Hagrid. Goku normally didn't like to read, but he vowed to page through the book to show appreciation to Hagrid. "Haha, awesome! Thanks for the gifts, guys!" Goku laughed.

Krillin received various trinkets from the students, but the gift that had surprised him most was Neville's gift. It was a clearly expensive silver cauldron and potion brewing kit. _"I guess the kid hasn't forgotten about the time I helped him in Snape's class." _Krillin thought fondly. He looked over to Neville and smiled at him, a grin that the shy boy happily reciprocated.

Gohan sat down with Harry, Ron, and Hermione. When they saw their friend, they shoved a pile of gift-wrapped boxes towards him. "Sorry, I didn't get anything for you…" Gohan said apologetically. "You taught us how to fly. I'm pretty sure we're even now." Harry said nonchalantly.

From Ron, Gohan got an orange book entitled Flying with The Cannons, as well as a bag of Honeydukes chocolate. From Harry and Hermione, he received copies of the school-mandated textbooks. "Now you don't have to borrow from us anymore! Plus, you seemed pretty interested in them." Harry said.

"Thanks so much, you guys!" Gohan felt a lump in his throat. He was lucky to have such good friends, and he had never felt happier in his entire life than he did right now.

Piccolo swiftly made his way out of the common room after waking up. He had done some research on the holiday of Christmas, and was rather indifferent about the whole thing. He was about to climb out of the portrait hole when he suddenly felt a petite hand on his shoulder.

He turned to see that Luna had been the one who had stopped him. "What do you want, kid?" Piccolo said far more rudely than he meant. "Oh, I just thought you shouldn't leave without opening your present." Luna said with an airy whisper. Piccolo suddenly felt rather guilty.

He took a small blue box from Luna's hands, quickly opening it. It was a wood carving of a magical creature she had once told him about, Piccolo believed it was called a Crumple-Horned Snorcack. Enclosed at the around the carving were three purple gis, similar to the ones he usually wore.

"I hope it's the right size. I figured since you always seem to be working out, you could use some more training clothes. I sewed them myself." Luna said with an adorable smile. Piccolo held the tunic in front of him. It was the perfect size, and the fabric was light and breathable.

"Thanks, kid. It's a nice gift." Piccolo responded. Suddenly, she hugged him, wrapping her arms around his muscled frame. The Namekian frowned, but allowed the display of affection. "You're a good friend, Mr. Piccolo." She said. Piccolo smiled, ruffling her hair with his clawed hand. _"Man, who would have thought that the Demon King Piccolo would accept a hug, of all things….I must be getting soft."_ The Namekian thought wryly.

That day, Goku and Gohan partook in a snowball fight with the rest of the Hogwarts students, Krillin and Piccolo content to watch. Soon, however, it was time to get ready for the dance. Gohan, Harry, and Ron donned their dress robes. Gohan felt bad that he didn't have Piccolo use his Clothes Beam make some decent dress robes for Ron, the ginger-haired boy instead wearing the horrendous pink robes of his Great-Aunt Tessie.

"Say, Gohan, you never told us who you were going with." Harry asked offhand, adjusting his bow tie. "You'll see soon enough." Gohan remarked coyly. He felt that it would be better to surprise them. At that point, Neville opened the door to the bedroom. "Parvati and Padma are outside. Best not keep them waiting." He said.

"Right. I hope you have fun with Ginny, Neville!" Harry said. "Thanks! Those dancing lessons I've been taking will surely pay off now!" Neville said before bounding out of the room, highly confident.

"We'll catch up with you later." Ron said before he and Harry left the room with the grim air of a funeral dirge. On the way out, they passed by Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle, all of whom were wearing robes of black velvet.

"Have fun wearing your Great-Aunt's robes, Weasley." Draco insulted casually. "Thanks, I will. You have fun dancing with pugface." Ron shot back just as glibly, referring to the infamously bitchy Slytherin girl Pansy Parkinson.

Harry paused, expecting Malfoy to make some sort of snarky remark towards him as well, but it never came. "Really? No insult?" Harry asked, a slight tinge of disappointment in his voice. "I haven't really been in the mood to piss you off lately, Potter, but I'll do my best. Hrm…." Draco strained, in deep thought. "Um….your parents are dead?" the blonde boy said slowly. "Alright, feel much better now, thanks." Harry said quickly before meeting Parvati in the hallway.

Later, Gohan was ready to meet Hermione. He would meet her in the courtyard before they would go to the ball together. As he left the common room wearing a soft black tuxedo, he glanced around the hall before taking flight through the castle.

He dropped to the ground right as he entered the courtyard. It was a surprisingly balmy night for the middle of winter, and the stars were especially bright, due to the lack of cloud cover.

And there Hermione was; Gohan could scarcely recognize her. She wore a blue dress made of some strange, floaty material. Her hair was curled into a ponytail that draped down to her back. She held herself differently, more elegantly. She seemed like a completely different person.

Gohan smiled nervously, offering his hand to her. "Ready to go?" He asked in what he hoped was a gentlemanly voice. She daintily took his arm. "Yes."

The Great Hall had been decked out for the ball, and no expense had been spared. Towering ice sculptures of reindeer and wizards nearly scraped the ceiling of the hall, which had been painted a glowing white. Instead of torches and candles, floating spheres of light were illuminating the dance floor and dining area. It looked like ten million fireflies had lit up the world. Silver frost adorned every surface, mistletoe draped over the tables as a centerpiece.

"Champions, over here, please!" Professor McGonagall, clad in a red tartan dress, called. Harry and Parvati bid Ron and Padma adieu and crossed over to McGonagall. Viktor Krum was also there, accompanied by an attractive girl from Beauxbatons. He wore crimson military-style dress with what seemed to a cape made out of wolf fur. The Beauxbatons girl wore a small periwinkle dress, her colors contrasting with her date's.

Harry felt a sudden urge to laugh when he saw Vegeta and Fleur. They weren't even touching each other, Vegeta leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. The Prince seemed uncomfortable in his green and silver suit, and Harry suspected that if he had his way, he would just show up to the dance in gym clothes. Fleur wore a beautiful white dress, but her expression was bored and imperious.

McGonagall looked around awkwardly at the champions before ordering them to line up in pairs. They would be dancing alone first before joined by the student body and teachers. The champions were introduced to the dance floor to applause.

Harry just focused on not screwing up and steeping on Parvati's feet. Luckily, she steered him so forcefully, he barely moved on his own. She seemed to be enjoying herself, however, so Harry was fine with it.

Krum and the girl from Beauxbatons had natural presence on the dance floor, and it was clear that the Bulgarian champion was well-versed in ballroom dancing. His fur cape swung and flapped about, but somehow, it never seemed to get in their way.

Vegeta made an unsurprisingly horrible dancer, and a blush of shame adorned his normally proud features the entire time. He had to use his super senses just to keep up with Fleur, such was his ungainliness on the dance floor.

However, the embarrassment was soon allieviated by the arrival of the rest of the student body. As the others began to dance, Vegeta and Fleur left, having done their legally required time of dancing. They each went back to their rooms, distinctly ruffled.

Gohan and Hermione danced their hearts out, completely losing track of time on the floor. They seemed to do just as well during the upbeat pop songs as they did during the ballads. Gohan had a natural finesse that perfectly complimented Hermione's enthusiasm.

However, they soon had to go sit and eat dinner. Instead of being a magically supplied buffet, they ordered off of menus. Since they weren't being charged any money, Gohan ordered one of everything. The other students who had already sat down stared at Gohan as he scarfed down the mountain of delicacies, but he hardly cared, nor did Hermione, who at this point was used to Gohan's voracious appetite.

Meanwhile, Ron was sitting at an empty table, chugging a bottle of Butterbeer. Padma had already left to go dance with another partner. He narrowed his eyes at Hermione and Gohan, neither of whom had noticed him looking. "Lousy punk. Who does that tosser think he is-" his monologue was interrupted by a hiccup- "-being so nice and helpful and cute all the time? Really pisses me off."

"Um, are you OK, Ron?" Harry interrupted his friend's brooding. "Where's Padma?" He asked in concern. "I could ask you the same question. Except replace Padma with Parvati. Which makes it a different question. Anyways, where is she?" Ron asked venomously.

"Oh, she's taking a round with Neville. Those dancing instruction books he bought weren't such a waste of money after all, it seems. Anyways, why are you so stirred? Did Fred and George replace your breakfast cereal with rat poison again?" Harry asked.

"Worse. Look at who Hermione is dancing with." Ron gestured a shaky hand towards Hermione and Gohan's table. "Who, Gohan? Yeah, I saw them earlier. They make great dancing partners, don't you think?" Harry said.

Ron gave his best friend a withering stare. "I really thought you would take my side on this. Look at how smug Gohan is over there. Doesn't that bother you?" Gohan was laughing at a story Hermione was telling, and it was clear both of them were having a wonderful time.

"Um, I don't see it." Harry said, now rather alarmed. "Are you sure you're alright, man?" "Oh, yes, I'm fine. Go dance, have fun, Harry. You deserve it." Ron's voice was now strangely high-pitched. "Come on, let's go for a walk. You need to cool off." Harry dragged Ron by the arm into the cool night air.

Goku and Krillin attended the ball to eat, neither having any desire to dance. They didn't see Piccolo, which was no surprise. They knew Piccolo would rather have each of his fingernails individually plied off than engage in what he referred to as "human frivolity".

A short time later, Harry and Ron returned from their short walk. Part of them was confused about why Snape and Karkaroff were talking, part of them was disgusted about Hagrid's clandestine rendezvous with Madame Maxime. Their mystery had only deepened.

The ball was winding down at midnight, and Gohan and Hermione were one of the last couples off of the dance floor. They decided to cool off outside, flying high into the air.

Their bodies were sillhouetted against the white moon, both of them breathless. "That was…wonderful. I had no idea you were such a good dancer!" Hermione said, exhilarated. "Nor I you. I figured you were always too busy reading to have fun." Gohan said playfully. She gave him a weak shove on the shoulder for his jibe.

_ "__I'm not running away anymore."_ Gohan thought as he leaned in, closing his eyes. Hermione closed her eyes as well, and they shared a chaste kiss in the cold winter night. They did not exchange a single word after that, silently bidding each other goodbye as they flew to their dorms.

**A/N**

**Greetings, lovely readers, and thanks for reading the seventh chapter of Never Tickle A Sleeping Dragon!**

**So, if you've been keeping with the new DBZ movie, "Fukkatsu No F", then you would have seen the atrocious new blue-haired transformation for Goku, known as "Super Saiyan God Super Saiyan" or "SSGSS". Suddenly, GT doesn't seem bad. Of course, I'll still the movie just to support the franchise. Sorry, I jut had to get my thoughts out about that. If I were in charge of the franchise, it certainly wouldn't be going in this direction, that's all I'm Saiyan. **

**Like Piccolo, I don't consider myself an expert in the "mushy" romance genre. I do think, though, that Gohan and Hermione are a good match, and I hope you all find the romance blossoming between them to be believable.**

**Otherwise, Draco and his goons are rooming with the Gryffindors, and Vegeta is on his way to becoming a Full-Power Super Saiyan. Definitely a strange chapter to write, but in a good way!**

**Next chapter will be the Second Task. Hopefully it won't dampen our heroes spirits too much! **


	8. LONG WAY HOME

Trunks was filled with wonder when he saw the depths of space for the first time. The sight of the stars flying by outside their ships' window was amazing for the burdened young man, who had never been off of his war-torn homeworld before. Whenever he wasn't meditating, the half-Saiyan gazed out of the window of the Capsule Corp spacecraft.

His younger counterpart also seemed to enjoy looking out at space, and the lavender-haired baby would often crawl next to his "Uncle Trunky" and stare out at orange-hued nebulae and swirling white galaxial spirals.

For Bulma, the trip was rather droll by comparison. She had already been on one month-long trip to Namek, and the prospect of another was not one she relished quite as much as her sons. She lazed around the ship in her underwear, breast-feeding the younger Trunks while Tien and Future Trunks were in the same room, much to the stoic warriors' discomfort.

Tien image-trained with Future Trunks to pass the time in a similar fashion that Krillin and Gohan did on the first voyage to Namek. Trunks appreciated an opportunity to flex his muscles as a Full-Power Super Saiyan, although the extent to which he could do so was limited, as Tien was much weaker than him.

Android 16 turned himself off into sleep mode shortly after takeoff, finding little to do on the small spaceship. Trunks always got the shivers whenever he passed by the android's dormant exoskeleton- he was still not entirely comfortable in the mechanical man's presence.

While traveling, Trunks stayed in telepathic contact with the displaced Z-Warriors, making sure to keep them informed on his training. When Trunks heard that his father was training to become a Full-Power Super Saiyan as well, he smiled. _"Good! With our combined power, we can beat Cell for sure!" _

Thankfully, the month eventually passed, and the Z-Fighters arrived on New Namek with a smooth landing. "So, Bulma, how different is this planet from the original Namek?" Tien asked out of curiosity. Bulma shrugged. "Um, not at all actually. According to King Kai, the atmosphere here is completely identical to that of the original Namek. There are three suns, the trees are blue, and the water is green." She droned.

"Well that's rather…bland." Trunks commented, his blue eyes scanning his surroundings. "Yeah, it is. And if you think this is bad, try spending as long as I did back on the original Namek!" Bulma complained, rocking the baby Trunks in her arms.

"Wait, I thought you only spent a few days on Namek." Tien said quizzically. "Trust me, it seemed like much longer." She replied. "What do you think, 16?"

A white bird had landed on 16's shoulder, and he was smiling softly. "I like it." He responded simply.

"I sense the Namekians 30 kilometers away. Tien, you should carry my mom. I'll carry…myself, I guess." Trunks said calmly, his white-blonde hair fluttering in the salty breeze of the foreign planet. Tien picked up Bulma in a fireman's carry. She was annoyed greatly by this unceremonious form of transportation, while the younger Trunks was carried gently by his older self.

They reached a settlement, alabaster clay huts in the process of being built by the green-skinned population. "Wow, they really do all look like Piccolo!" Tien commented. "Yes, but don't mention that to them. It's racist." Bulma advised. They landed softly on the blue grass, each of them taking care to be as polite as possible to their allies.

A Namekian with wrinkled skin approached the party, his orange and white tunic marred with dirt from a hard day's work. "Grand Elder Moori, it is a pleasure to see you." Bulma bowed. She nudged Trunks' leg, nonverbally encouraging him to do the same. Tien and Android 16 followed their lead.

"The feeling is mutual, Miss Bulma. You know my people are forever indebted to the Earth for your hospitality towards us in our time of need. I must ask, what is your purpose for visiting us again?" Moori said in grandfatherly tone.

"Our friends, Son Goku among them, have encountered some weird rip in the space-time continuum that has taken them out of our universe!" Trunks spoke up for his mother, his voice impassionate.

Moori regarded Trunks with a metaphorical raised eyebrow. "You bear a resemblance to the Super Saiyan yourself, young man. We would be honored to know your name." Moori had been joined by a gaggle of villagers.

Trunks was flustered. "My apologies, sir. My name is Trunks, and I am a Super Saiyan as well." This statement shocked Moori. "A Super Saiyan? We believed there was only one Super Saiyan, not multiple. How is this possible? Are you another son of Goku?" Moori asked.

"No sir, anyone with Saiyan blood can achieve the transformation. As for your other question….well, my father is not Goku." Trunks said, downcast. "Ah, he wears the armor of the Saiyans. His father must be Vegeta." A particularly cynical villager sneered.

The Namekians tensed, the mere mention of the Prince's name enough to send a ripple of hostility through their community. Trunks and Bulma looked ashamed, while Tien was rather complicit with the Namekian's outrage.

"Never forget!" One Namekian cried. "Never forget the atrocities committed by that monster's hand! That murderous Saiyan is no better than Frieza!"

"Enough!" Moori commanded. "We shall not visit the sins of the father upon the son. I have searched his feelings, and his aims are pure and true. Now then, I assume you will wish to use our Dragon Balls. Forgive me for imposing, but why aren't yours working?" Moori asked.

"When Goku and our friends touched one of Dragon Balls, they were transported to another universe, taking the ball with them. Thus, we only have six of our Dragon Balls at the moment. By the way, I am Tien Shinhan, another warrior of the Earth." Tien explained.

"The ancient magic of the Super Nameks… I see. Very well, we shall have our Dragon Balls gathered within the hour. I ask you all to wait patiently until then." Moori said. The villagers began to disperse, going back to their various rebuilding tasks and jobs. Moori and Android 16 introduced themselves to one another, the Namekian being taken aback at the idea of an artificial lifeform.

"We have been expecting news of the crisis regarding Cell ever since Son Goku recruited Dende for guardianship of Earth. We were most concerned." Moori explained to Trunks, both men sitting down on a bench outside the construction site.

"With the unexpected absence of our friends, I was the only one who could even attempt to take Cell on by myself. I knew I had no chance without them, so I managed to convince him to leave us alone for a year. We have only five months until he returns." Trunks explained politely. Moori nodded in understanding.

"I find it hard to believe that you are the son of Vegeta. Why, you're practically his opposite in terms of temperament." Moori sniped. Trunks frowned, growing irritated with the Elder's constant jibes towards his father. "Look, I don't know what my father did to you in the past, but he really has changed in the past few years. Goku has been a good influence on him." The half-Saiyan said patiently.

"I can imagine. Son Goku's heart is good and pure, and he is a friend to all life in the universe. However, even if your father has been forgiven by him, we have not. We are a peaceful people, but we do not suffer injustices lightly, and we have long memories." Moori said coldly. Trunks chose not to speak up any further.

The Namekians made good on their word, and the balls were gathered in a short time. A Namekian child of similar stature to Dende came up to the orange spheres, uttering a foreign incantation. Trunks was surprised at how much larger the Namekian Dragon Balls were compared to their Terran counterparts. He hoped that bigger was better in this case.

"_Takkaraputo Popurunga Pupirittoparo!" _The child of the Dragon Clan declared. The Eternal Dragon burst from a pillar of orange light, rising into the darkened sky. Its muscles bulged menacingly, but it had a rather friendly smile on its alligator-esque face.

Trunks and Tien were in awe, while Android 16 stared on. **"You have collected all seven Dragon Balls, and as it is written, speak wisely and I will grant you three wishes within my power."** Porunga boomed.

"Incredible! Alright, for our first wish-" Trunks began to speak, but something suddenly cut him off. A malevolent, overwhelming power was heading straight for them, and Trunks had a horrible idea about who it was.

"What's wrong, Trunks? Come on, we need to tell them the exact phrasing of the wish!" Bulma implored. 16 and Tien tensed, for they had clearly sensed the energy signature accelerating towards them as well.

"All of you need to get to safety now! It's-" 16 began, only to gape in horror at the sight above him. In the air Cell stood, his golden aura casting a light that outshone even that of the Dragon of Dreams. The stench of ozone filled the area, and his energy crackled and popped in the air.

Cell slowly landed as the Namekians and Bulma scattered, running as far as possible from the villain. Porunga awkwardly remained where he was, looking upon Cell with trepidation.

"H-How did you find us!?" Trunks demanded as he, Tien, and 16 entered fighting stances. "Come now, Trunks, you truly believe that I couldn't sense your energy? I knew you and your band of merry fools were going to Namek from the moment you left Earth." Cell hissed, his voice sibilant.

"We still have five months. That was our agreement, remember!?" Trunks reminded frantically. "But I'm bored now, Trunks." Cell said quickly. "Let us make our wish, please! We were just about to wish back Goku and the others to this dimension." Tien explained.

Cell's petulant demeanor did not change. "I have had enough of your silly games! Boy, show me your new powers!" Cell said before flying at Trunks. To the Half-Saiyan's surprise, he was able to perceive Cell's movements out of the corner of his vision.

_"Focus….focus….focus!"_ Trunks raised his arms in a cross block to halt Cell's punch. Cell himself seemed somewhat pleased at this. Tien and Android 16 jumped into the fray, charging attacks of their own. "Dodonpa!" "Rocket Punch!" A thin yellow laser zipped towards Cell, while 16's jet-propelled arm did the same.

The Crane-Style ray bounced harmlessly off of Cell's skin, and the Rocket Arm crashed into Cell's cheek to minimal reaction before flying back to 16's body. "Guys, get back! What are you doing?! Trunks said incredulously, even while attempting to hold back Cell's assault.

"I appreciate your concern, Trunks, but let me assure you; I can handle the trash from here." Cell briefly backed off from the Super Saiyan before extending his green arms towards Tien and 16.

Both fighters felt a sharp lurch in their stomachs before a wordless _kiai_ by Cell launched them across thousands of kilometers of ocean. It took all of their strength to avoid blacking out from the force of the attack, and both Tien and 16 collapsed on top of rocky outcroppings on equidistant sides of the planet.

Trunks' yellow aura flared. "You bastard! You'll pay for this!" Trunks launched towards the bio-android. Cell caught Trunks' jab in his right hand. Trunks immediately went for a low kick, which Cell jumped over with ease before kicking the time-traveller in the face.

Trunks went flying back, but he wasn't going to give up so easily. Her performed a series of rapid, jerky movements with his arms, preparing to launch one of his signature moves. He thrust his palms forward, his thumbs and index fingers forming a diamond shape.

"Take this! **Burning Attack**!" A yellow energy blast fired at Cell, who was forced to take it head on. A small explosion burst when the blast hit, causing a dust cloud to billow into the air.

Porunga watched on, rather unsure of how to proceed. **"Well, this is awkward. I kinda hope somebody makes some wishes soon…then again, it HAS been a few centuries since I've seen a good fight." **Porunga sat back, using his magical dragon powers to conjure a mountain-sized bucket of popcorn to eat from as he watched the fight.

When the smoke cleared, Cell was still smirking, although he had a few minor abrasions from the blast. "Goodness, you've improved!" Cell commended Trunks in the same way one might praise a pet dog after teaching it to fetch.

Trunks decided not to respond, instead zipping towards Cell with renewed determination. They exchanged blows for a short time before breaking off, their auras lighting up the sky. Cell's index finger was alight with a purple sheen, a violet pinprick of light on the tip of his clawed nail.

Frieza's Death Beam raced towards Trunks at near-light speeds, the Super Saiyan narrowly avoiding the concentrated barrel of light. Cell bristled before firing a barrage of the pink finger lasers. Trunks jumped, ducked, and rolled on the green grass to avoid the beams.

Cell flashed over to Trunks, kicking him in the small of the back. Trunks skid across the ground from the surprise attack before disappearing in a whiz of super speed. The half-Saiyan drove his shoulder into Cell's abdomen, following it up with a rapid punching combo.

He kicked Cell into the air before charging another yellow ki blast above his head. **"Finish Buster!"** He launched with dramatic flair. Cell allowed the blast to come within a hair's breadth of his body before he deflected it into space with a flick of his wrist.

Trunks blanched. _"I put all of my power into that blast, and it still wasn't enough!" _In a flash, Cell appeared in front of the cowed demi-Saiyan. The bio-android spread his palm before a purple bubble of energy encapsulated Trunks.

"Frieza's Imprisonment Ball, one of the more creative techniques in my framework. I think I'll test it out by playing a few dozen rounds of pinball with you. Is that OK with you, Trunks?" Cell's query was fruitless, however, as Trunks was soundlessly pounding on the prison ball. Even his new strength was unable to match Cell's.

"Well, I didn't hear a no!" With that, Cell kicked the ball into the air, zipping to and fro to bounce the ball in-between himself, essentially playing one-man ping-pong. Trunks helplessly bounced about inside his makeshift cage, becoming extremely disoriented.

After twenty minutes of pinball, Cell contemptuously kicked the ball into the ground, causing the ki sphere to detonate. A massive explosion ensued, and Trunks was caught in the middle of it.

The son of Vegeta was prone, his Saiyan armor torn, burnt, and frayed. His long hair had returned to its usual lavender hue, signaling that he had dropped out of the Super Saiyan transformation. His breathing was hitched, and he had vomited shortly after being released from the Imprisonment Ball.

Cell landed, looking remarkably unruffled in comparison to Trunks. "You're good-" He picked Trunks up by the hair before ripping a bunch of the purple strands out, causing the hero to howl in pain. "-But not that good."

Blood trailed out of the corner of Trunks' mouth. "D-Damn you…monster!" Cell smirked, as if he took this as a compliment. "I really thought you would prove to be more of a challenge than your weakling father did. It's a shame. Oh well." He dumped Trunks' body on the ground, kicking him one last time for good measure. "I suppose its time to make _my_ wish."

Cell strut over to Porunga, who had just finished his popcorn. Cell easily transferred his linguistics over from the Galactic Standard Language to Namekian, once again thankful for Piccolo's DNA.

_"O Dreamwalker, I beseech you to grant me my wishes. For my first wish, bring back Son Goku, Son Gohan, Vegeta, Piccolo, and Krillin to this dimension. With the second wish, transport them to New Namek." _Cell said in flawless Namekian dialect.

Porunga sweatdropped. **"That wish is beyond my power."** The dragon intoned. Cell frowned. "For a supposedly all-powerful dragon, you're pretty horrible at granting wishes. Is it really such a difficult request?" Cell asked with a keen expression. **"They are beyond my reach. The barriers between dimensions are too great."** Porunga repeated.

"Tch! What a waste of time. I'm barely even warmed up. Very well, if my prey won't come to me, I will simply hunt them down. There is no barrier great enough to hold me back, and I'll prove to the whole universe that even the gaps between dimensions are no match for the might of the perfect being!" Cell took off into space, leaving Trunks to die.

Trunks crawled on the ground, blood trailing on the grass from his various open wounds. _"I won't die…not here! Come on Trunks, you've survived worse than this…keep it together."_ Soon, however, his fingers went numb, and he was forced to crawl by using his chin. He vaguely made out the forms of the Namekians running towards him from their hiding places. At the front of the pack was his mother, and the last sight Trunks registered before blacking out was his younger self being coddled in Bulma's arms.

Eventually, Trunks awoke on a soft bed. His wounds were gone, and without the the heavy burden of pain on his body, he felt floaty and ethereal. For a moment, he wondered if he had died. He had heard from Goku that the afterlife was a lot different than what most thought of at first, but he couldn't help but wonder.

He opened his blue eyes. The sky was still dark, the only light coming from Porunga. The Namekians, Bulma, and Present Trunks hovered over him. "Wait, how long was I out?" Trunks' voice was shaky. "Only a minute, at most. We saw you were in rough shape, so we used one of the wishes to heal you and Tien!" Bulma explained.

"What about 16?" Trunks said without thinking. _"Wait, why am I even worrying about the safety of that android? It's just another one that madman Gero's creations! Isn't it?" _Trunks mentally berated himself. Despite himself though, he though back to how 16 jumped into the fight against Cell despite knowing full well that Cell was leagues above him. It inspired a certain respect in Trunks.

"The dragon was unable to affect 16 because he's not an organic lifeform." Bulma explained. "In that case, we need to try and search for him right away." Trunks suggested before turning to the Namekians. "Thank you so much for healing me. You have my eternal gratitude."

"It is unfortunate that there are no healers in our village, otherwise we wouldn't have had to use the wish. Still, we could not have left you as were, young Trunks. I daresay you were on the brink of death." One of the Namekians said.

"Wouldn't be the first time." Trunks stood and stretched his muscles for a bit before closing his eyes. He took a deep breath for about five seconds, then exhaled. When he opened his eyes again, he was a Super Saiyan.

Suddenly, Trunks saw Tien flying at top speed over the horizon, the triclops joining the party shortly. "What happened? Where is Cell?" The warrior asked grimly. His white t-shirt had been torn from Cell's attack, but due to the wish, he looked as fresh as ever.

Trunks briefly explained what had happened, his voice clipped from stress. Tien shook his head in defeat when he heard of the results of the wish. "You'll get stronger, though. We still have five months." Tien said in an attempt to be hopeful. "Right. That, and we can still hold out hope for Goku and the others to return." Trunks said.

"How should we use the other two wishes?" Moori interjected. "We should wish Android 16 to where we are. There's no time to search the entire planet for him." Bulma said. Shortly, 16 materialized in front of Porunga, unconscious from Cell's _kiai_.

Bulma rushed over to check on him. "He doesn't have much external damage. Say what you will about Gero, but he sure can build a tough exoskeleton." She muttered to herself before turning to the others. "I think he's going to be alright!"

"Excellent. Now, with the last wish, transport us and our spaceship back to Earth. There is a lot to accomplish, and we don't want to waste another month travelling." Trunks said. "Why not just wish for Cell to die?" A snarky Namekian brought up.

"A wish like that wouldn't work. Cell is far too powerful. Very well, we will ask for that wish. I wish you the best of luck in taking on Cell. The universe depends on it." Moori said gravely. A short wish later, Trunks and the other Earthlings flashed back to Earth in defeat.

A short while later, Cell was stewing in the depths of space. He had flown for over an hour, and had only managed to escape New Namek's solar system. He needed to find a way to where Goku and the Z-Fighters were, the only question was how to accomplish it.

If only he feel what it was like to teleport just once, then he could figure out the workings of the technique. In his clenched fists, he formed two yellow energy balls, waves of power rippling from the photons of the spheres.

He molded and twisted the atoms of his ki, having perfect control over his energy. He attempted to create an inter-dimensional wormhole, and after a few minutes of trial and error, Cell succeeded, creating a spray of subatomic particles.

"Yes!" Cell exclaimed, even though there was no way for his voice to travel in the vacuum of space. A momentary rip in space had opened, and Cell flew to enter it. Unfortunately, it snapped shut moments before he could reach it, and the bio-android was met only by blackness once more.

"Yes! A wormhole! With this, I can surely access superluminal travel! The only problem is controlling where I want to go." Still, Cell knew that his chance to fight Goku was much closer than he originally thought. He had already walked 999 miles of his journey, and now there was only one to go.

**A/N**

**Greetings, lovely readers, and thanks for reading the eight chapter of Never Tickle A Sleeping Dragon!**

**This chapter featured less humor than usual, but I hope you guys enjoyed this action-packed substitute. Don't worry, the regularly scheduled hijinks at Hogwarts will continue next chapter with the Second Task. I quite enjoyed writing this chapter, especially Cell, who is one of my favorite DBZ characters. Unfortunately, Trunks got whooped yet again, but he'll have his chance for revenge later down the road. **

**If you have read Bringer Of Death (One of the most popular and well-written stories in the DBZ archive), then you will notice that I used their ideas about Cell attempting to use Instant Transmission in space, with his creation of a wormhole being the result. If you haven't read Bringer of Death, it certainly has my endorsement for keeping the original flavor of DBZ along with the new ideas presented.**

**Thanks again for reading, and if the story made an impression on you, for better or for worse, make sure to voice it with a review! **


	9. WATER YOU SAIYAN TO ME

In the great hall, the Z-Fighters heard of Trunks' failure from the man himself soon after the battle on New Namek. They all sat in the Great Hall, listening to the warrior from the future telepathically report to them. They all had varying reactions, but chiefly, they were disappointed.

"Shoot! Even Porunga wasn't able to wish us back!" Goku bemoaned. "And Cell is so darn strong too! Even after his training, Trunks still wasn't able to beat him!" Krillin said sadly.

"At this point, we're out of options. I don't see any way that we can return to our world now." Piccolo frowned. "Don't give up hope, Mr. Piccolo! I know that this'll work out somehow! We've been in hopeless situations before, and we've always made it out alright!" Gohan said passionately.

_"I'm so sorry, you all. I haven't completed my training yet, but I still thought I could take on Cell by myself."_ Trunks said deprecatingly.

"A typical failure. Even though you had ample time to train, you still failed to stop Cell!" Vegeta callously dismissed his son after hearing of the battle.

"Vegeta…" Goku's tone was a warning. Gohan stood up, banging his palms on the table. Something inside of him snapped. "Really? That's all you can say to your own son after he tried his best to help us, you included?" He practically yelled. Luckily for them, there were only a few other students in the Great Hall at the time.

Vegeta turned to regard Gohan, sizing the boy up with a disciplinary glance. "Really, Kakarott, your brat has gotten rather mouthy lately. Do you think making his little friends has emboldened him?" Vegeta said all of this conversationally to Goku, as if the matter were only of trivial importance.

"DON'T IGNORE ME!" Gohan's hair flashed yellow, his once-onyx orbs now a sea-green. Golden flames emanated from his frame, his muscles taut with tension. "Gohan, calm down!" Piccolo barked, having no patience for his pupil's irascible behavior. "Son, what do think you're doing?" Goku said, outraged.

"I don't see how any of you can stand his disrespect! I won't take it lying down anymore! I'm strong enough to beat you, Vegeta, and I'll make you learn a lesson you won't soon forget!" The challenge was clear.

Vegeta was already a Super Saiyan, and thus it took him slightly less effort to produce the same aura as Gohan. "Would you two cut it out? We have bigger things to worry about!" Krillin pleaded. The two Super Saiyans stared into each other's indentically colored eyes.

"Strong words for a mutant brat. If you really want to face the Prince of all Saiyans again, then you can! I assure you, this time I won't go so easy on you!" The prince boasted. They both flashed outside, hovering above the forbidden forest. The treetops were covered in fresh snow, and the sky was a surly slate-gray.

Goku transformed into a Super Saiyan before he, Piccolo, and Krillin used Instant Transmission to teleport to Vegeta and Gohan's location.

Goku began to step in, ready to break up the fight himself, until Piccolo placed a clawed hand on his shoulder. "Goku, don't intervene just yet. Let them settle this like men." Piccolo suggested brusquely. "I don't want my son to get hurt, Piccolo!" Goku protested.

"Of course not, but feel their powers. Gohan has grown under our care. Let him spread his wings a little. This will be a good challenge for him." "But what if Vegeta goes too far?" Krillin brought up.

"He won't kill Gohan, if that's what you mean. He knows just as well as we do that the boy will be crucial in the battle with Cell. In his own way, Vegeta may be trying to train him." Piccolo theorized.

Gohan intensely dropped into a Namekian fighting stance. "I'm not the same scared little kid I once was. You better take this fight seriously!" Gohan growled. Vegeta scoffed in return. "The only matter I do not take seriously, _boy_, is you."

Gohan screamed, flying at Vegeta at supersonic speeds. His first punch met Vegeta's fist, causing the sound barrier to break violently. Vegeta slid underneath Gohan before mule-kicking the young Saiyan into the air.

Gohan stopped his momentum in midair before doggedly pursuing Vegeta to the forest floor. The two Super Saiyans exchanged blows with acrimonious ferocity, although Gohan slightly more so than Vegeta.

Gohan screamed before driving his fist into Vegeta's gut, drawing blood from the Prince's mouth. Vegeta responded in kind by elbowing Gohan in the side of the head, causing the boy to slide along the forest floor. Gohan slammed into a tree, the force knocking it over with a loud timber.

Vegeta charged a small blue energy ball in his hand. "Come on boy, surely you can do better than that!" He said before firing the blast at the boy. Gohan flashed out of the way at the last second, the blast scorching the earth where the half-Saiyan had been.

"What?" Vegeta hurriedly searched around for his opponent. However, he soon found Gohan, due to the latter kicking him in the back. Vegeta flew into the air again, gasping in pain.

Gohan placed his hands in front of his forehead, electric yellow energy coalescing in his palms. "Masenko-Ha!" The golden blast zoomed towards Vegeta, who prepared an equally powerful attack to match it. "Super Galick Flash!" From one hand, Vegeta fired a triangular yellow beam.

The beams clashed briefly, an enormous explosion booming in the air. Goku, Krillin, and Piccolo took care to stay out of range of the blast, although they were becoming concerned that they were going to be noticed by the Hogwarts population.

Krillin focused on all five of them before casting the Disillusionment Charm. The spell acted to conceal the five warriors by giving them the properties of a chameleon. Krillin was unable to turn them invisible, but with their speed, they would be able to evade detection if need be.

Vegeta and Gohan were so focused on fighting each other that they hardly noticed the Disillusionment Charm being cast on them. Without even thinking about it, they focused on sensing each other's energy rather than seeing each other with their eyes.

The charm did not obscure their auras, making it seem as though two golden fireballs were duking it out in midair. All of Gohan's pent-up energy was being released, and everything whizzed through his mind in a blur.

Slowly but surely, Vegeta found his defenses were wearing down against Gohan's assault. The boy was maintaining an insanely high intensity for an inordinate amount of time. This, combined with Gohan's superior mastery of the Super Saiyan state, allowed the boy to get the edge on the Saiyan prince.

After the boy landed a solid right hook to his face, Vegeta's confidence spiked to anger, and he released his energy in a golden explosion. "YOU THINK THAT YOU'RE BETTER THAN ME! YOU ARE NOTHING!" He shouted before unleashing a forceful, staccato series of blows on Gohan, who was unsuccessful at blocking them.

"I am the only and true Super Saiyan!" he shouted before hitting Gohan with a double axe-handle. Gohan skid on the ground nearly a hundred meters before he stopped. The Half-Saiyan flared his aura again, flying at Vegeta with raw determination.

"Wow, Gohan is able to keep with Vegeta!" Krillin exclaimed. "No, you've got it twisted. It's Vegeta who is keeping up with Gohan!"

Gohan used his small size and superior speed to zip around Vegeta. The Prince went for another punch, but Gohan dove to his side before aiming a devastating kick to Vegeta's left arm. A sickening crunch ensued, and Gohan immediately knew that he went too far.

"NO NOT THE OTHER ONE!" Vegeta's arm hung limply by his side. An expression of pure rage flit across his face before his head snapped forward, headbutting Gohan in the face.

With another crunch, Gohan's nose was broken, and blood freely flowed from his nostrils. With his good arm, Vegeta repeatedly assaulted Gohan in the face. Gohan fell to the ground, clutching his face in

"I can't stand by anymore!" Goku transmitted in front of Vegeta right as he was going for another punch. The normally gentle Saiyan caught the fist in his untarnished hand, a look of anger marring his boyish features.

"That's enough, Vegeta." Goku said with grim determination. Vegeta rescinded his punch. The Prince attempted to laugh, but it came out as pained wheezing. "How dare you interrupt my battle! You dishonor your son by interfering here!"

"Don't be like that. You both are in no condition to spar any further. Now c'mon, you both need to get healed. Madam Pom-Pom should be able to fix you both up in no time." Goku's voice was deliberately soothing, and he was able to get Vegeta to calm down a little.

He spat on the ground. "Your son's gotten a little tough. I never would've thought that the little crybaby would push me to such a point. I look forward to our battle even more, Kakarrot!" Vegeta declared audaciously.

"You bet!" Goku smiled, leading Vegeta up to the castle. Krillin and Piccolo landed next to the prone Gohan, who was holding his nose to stem the bleeding, as well as holding his other various bruises.

"Hang in there, kid." Piccolo hoisted Gohan up, holding the boy on one of his shoulders. "Man, leave it to those Saiyans to break an arm and then act like nothing happened." Krillin said, shaking his head. "Hmph, this marks the second time Vegeta's gotten his arm broken by a blonde kid younger than him." Piccolo remarked.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Piccolo, I got in over my head…" Gohan said apologetically. "Hey, you did awesome out there, Gohan! You've really become an amazing fighter." Krillin said supportively.

Piccolo, on the other hand, was not quite as positive. "Sometimes, fighting's not always the best course of action. We shouldn't be fighting amongst ourselves, not when we need to figure out how to get home. Remember, we may be fighters, but we're not brutes." He reprimanded as they walked up to the castle.

"So you fell down some stairs, is that what you're trying to tell me?" Madam Pomfrey asked incredulously. "That is correct." Vegeta hissed. Gohan nodded emphatically, nearly dislodging the paper towels he had jammed in his nostrils.

"Right. So anyways, you two will have to stay here for three days while your injuries are healed. You're lucky that your patient rights prevent me from finding out how you really got hurt." Pomfrey grumbled. "Thanks, Miss Pom-Pom! You're the best!" Goku said cheerily.

She snarled before leaving the room to grab bone-mending medicine.

Later that evening, Harry and Hermione barged into the Hospital Wing, worried expressions on both of their faces. "Gohan! We freaked out when we didn't see you in class today! And- oh my, what happened to you?" Hermione doted on Gohan excessively, checking his wounds with the same meticulousness she would double-check her homework.

Gohan noticed that Ron was not with them. Ever since the Yule Ball, it seemed that the ginger would not be caught dead in the same room as Gohan. Harry later confided in Gohan that Ron was jealous of his blossoming relationship with Hermione, and avoided him because of it. Gohan really liked Hermione, but he felt bad that he had alienated Ron. It seemed as if there was no way to please everybody.

"Bloody hell!" Harry exclaimed. "It's alright guys, I just fell down some stairs." Gohan said to reassure them. Hermione gave him a withering glare. "Alright, what really happened is that I cut myself shaving." Gohan said facetiously.

Before Harry or Hermione could respond, Vegeta spoke up from the adjacent hospital bed. "It is true. The boy is my personal barber, you see, and he suffered a grevious accident with the razor, injuring us both while also breaking my arm." Vegeta hastily lied.

"Really." Harry deadpanned. "Yes really." Vegeta groaned before falling asleep. Harry turned to Gohan. "Make sure to be careful when you're shaving your uncle from now on.

Since we're exchanging ridiculous stories, I throw my offering in on the table. Guess what?" Harry deadpanned. "Chicken butt?" Gohan immediately responded, earning him a shove from Hermione. "Close, but no cigar. I figured out the egg. I scrambled it, if you will." Harry said, procuring the golden egg from his billowing black cloak.

Gohan sat up, his interest immediately piqued. "Awesome! How did you get it to do anything other than that atrocious screaming noise?"

"It's so stupid, you won't believe it." Hermione groaned.

"While Ron and I were flying above the lake, we were playing catch with the egg. Suddenly, either I dropped it, or Ron made a bad throw- I am more inclined to believe the latter. Either way, the end result is that the egg fell into the lake. Luckily, the Giant Squid was kind enough to push the egg towards the shore. He's probably the nicest eldritch abomination I've personally ever met.

Ron and I saw that the egg reacted strangely to being underwater. It produced a strange, almost musical noise. It sounded like it was speaking, but I wasn't about to put my head in freezing water just to hear it.

I figured that you would've liked to check it out, so I went looking for you, only to find that you were in the hospital." Harry finished.

"Well, let's use that sink over there and take the plunge!" Gohan smiled. Hermione quickly filled the sink with tepid tap water until the level was high enough to completely submerge the egg. Harry took a deep breath before sliding underneath the water.

A chorus of eerie voices assaulted his ears from all sides._ "Come seek us where our voices sound, we cannot sing above the ground, an hour long you have to look, to recover what we took."_

Harry surfaced again, grabbing a towelette to dry his sopping, shaggy hair with. "Well, what did it say?" Hermione prodded. "Uh, something about seeking where our voices sound…one sec, I need to memorize it." Harry submerged again, telling the strange prophecy to Hermione when he re-emerged.

"Oh, Harry, isn't it obvious? You're going to have to do something with the merpeople underneath the lake!' Hermione quickly deduced. Harry paled. "Uh oh, that's not good. I'm not a very good swimmer."

Gohan managed to suppress a giggle. Vegeta, on the other hand, laughed out loud. "Perhaps you should use magic then, boy." Vegeta mocked. "Oh, yeah, good idea." Harry said sarcastically.

"Don't freak out about it right now. We still have a month until the second task. That's plenty of time to figure out a plan." Gohan said soothingly.

In the next few days, Harry fielded an eclectic group of ideas from his friends. He contacted Sirius, who gave him the rather unhelpful suggestion of transfiguring himself into a submarine. Hermione suggested the Bubble-Head Charm, although Harry was certain that either Krum or Fleur had thought of that already. Gohan figured that he could just fly underwater while periodically coming up for air when needed, but Harry was not able to fly fast enough for this to be a viable option.

Surprisingly, it was Neville of all people who had the best plan. While Harry was studying in the library during the wee hours of the morning, Neville approached him holding a slimy, writhing green mass.

"Look Neville, I don't do drugs, so I'm not interested in whatever it is you're selling." Harry snarked. "This is far better than any psychedelic plant you could hope for! It's Gillyweed!" Neville said excitedly.

"Hey, I don't want to do anything illegal, Neville. Do you know what they do to guys like me in Azkaban?" Harry was now simply messing with Neville for the laughs.

"Harry, this isn't illegal. It just lets you grow gills. You know, so that you can breathe underwater for the second task? Remember that?" Neville said, increasingly uncertain. "I offered some to that Vegeta guy, but he refused and made me eat it instead. I had to stay in a bathtub for an hour."

"Yeah, yeah, cool story Neville. Now then, should I eat this now, or…?"

The evening before the Second Task, Professor Dumbledore sent owls to Ron, Goku, and the girl from Beauxbatons that Viktor Krum went to the Yule Ball with.

The three casually strolled up to Dumbledore's office through the torch-lit hallways. Ron was forced to lead the way, since neither Goku nor the Beauxbatons girl knew how to get to the Headmaster's office by themselves.

"Huh, wonder why Professor Bumblebee wanted us to meet him at such a late hour." Goku innocently wondered. Ron raised his index finger for a moment before sighing in resignation. "I dunno, but I sure am hyped for the second task tomorrow!" Ron said.

"By the way, what's your name?" Goku asked the blue-clad girl. "I am Angelica." The student said tersely. "So I hear you're dating my son. You better be treating him right!" Goku said with mock-stern tone. Angelica gave him a strange look. "You're Viktor Krum's dad?" She asked incredulously.

"Wait, what?" Goku asked in confusion. "You're thinking of Hermione, you bloody tosser." Ron mumbled. "Oh yeah, my bad." Thankfully, they soon arrived at Dumbledore's office.

"Ice Mice." Ron intoned, the stone gargoyle nodding before stepping aside. Angelica gaped at this display, while its significance seemed to be lost on Goku.

The strange trio ambled into Dumbledore's office, the gargoyle ominously closing off the only exit to the office.

Dumbledore's normally kindly visage was shadowed by the torchlight. Professors McGonagall and Snape stood stock-still at his side, grim expressions on their faces.

To offset this frightening image, a cute ten-year old girl was there, relaxing in an armchair entirely too large for her. "Excellent. Headmaster, all four sacrifices have arrived." Snape whispered softly.

Whimpering, Ron made a break for the door, only to find that a force field blocked his way to the exit. After hitting the magical barrier, the ginger bounced onto the floor, earning a creepy giggle from the small child.

"Come now, Severus, sacrifice is such an…_ugly_ word." Dumbledore said with fingers steepled. Goku locked onto Krillin's ki signature, and was ready to teleport out of there at a moment's notice.

"You four have been selected as hostages for the second task." McGonagall was more serious than ever, and this point Ron and Angelica were banging on the walls, begging for help.

"Alright, that's enough!" Goku grabbed Ron and Angelica and tried to teleport. However, even after applying his utmost concentration to the technique, he found that he could not do it.

"Mr. Goku, I am offended. You presume that I do not put anti-Apparation jinxes on my office. Give this old man some credit." Dumbledore's glasses glinted in the torchlight.

_"How can that be? I'm not apparating!" _Goku mentally panicked. "If you touch any of us, you'll be sorry! Just let us go, and we'll pretend that this never happened!" Goku roared.

"Well, we can't have that, now can we?" Moody snarled, emerging from the shadows. "Don't worry; the ones most precious to you will come to your rescue. If they can, that is. _Somnium_!"

With that, Goku, Ron, Angelica, and the little girl promptly passed out.

The next morning, the Z-Fighters gathered in the great hall, Vegeta disentangling himself from his followers in order to eat some breakfast. "So, not be a bother or anything, but have any of you noticed that Goku's energy has completely disappeared?" Krillin asked while munching on toast.

"Yes, and it's important not to jump to conclusions. If Goku doesn't turn up by the end of the day, then we should start getting worried. For now though, we should wait and see." Piccolo said rationally.

"What?" Vegeta dramatically stood up, as did Gohan. The two glanced at each other for a brief moment, their outrage mutual. The two Saiyans seemed to have gained a mutual respect for each other since their battle, and both acted outright civil to each other now, whereas before their relationship consisted Vegeta abusing Gohan in some way, only for the boy to passively take it.

"Champions, please start making your way down to the lake at this time. The Second Task will begin within the hour." Professor Dumbledore sounded from the head table.

Vegeta snarled. "We shall get to the bottom of this after I demolish this ridiculous competition. Now if you'll excuse me, I must go." Vegeta haughtily turned about-face and exited the hall.

"Good to see he has his priorities in order…" Krillin joked. "Maybe my dad is supposed to be part of the Second Task. After all, when Harry listened to his egg, it said something about stealing something precious from each of the champions."

"Really? Something precious for Vegeta? Did they manage to take away his ability to use ki?" Piccolo speculated wryly.

"Wait, I think I have an idea. The egg said that the champions would have to rescue something precious. Precious as in important. Maybe Vegeta will have to rescue Goku for the Second Task!" Krillin said.

"Why would Vegeta ever rescue Goku? He hates him." Piccolo said. "Well, he wants to be the one to ultimately defeat my dad. That's why he saved my dad from Android 19." Gohan theorized. "Interesting…" Piccolo said warily.

Vegeta lazily flew down to the lakefront, noticing that several multi-leveled wooden towers had built for the students to view the task. The Prince saw Harry walking down to the shore with a gaggle of his friends.

Harry was getting his ear talked off by Hermione, Neville, and the Weasley Twins. Vegeta rather liked Fred and George, as they always made things a little more interesting, and they seemed to idolize him somewhat.

When Vegeta landed, all conversation halted, much to his pleasure. He always enjoyed when he presence was given the appropriate respect.

"So, my fellow champion, how are you on this fine morning?" Vegeta said, clapping Harry's shoulder. "I'm on that good weed, if you know what I'm saying." Harry said, knowing that Vegeta wouldn't get the joke.

Suddenly, Vegeta's forced smile dropped. "Alright, I've had enough of the damn pleasantries. Have you seen-' -Vegeta controlled his gag reflex- "-Goku around?"

Harry and his friends were quizzical. "No, I haven't. That's strange though, I was just about to ask if you had seen Ron." The Boy Who Lived responded. "Is that the ginger one?" Vegeta asked rudely, causing Hermione to grumble.

"Yes. And where is Gohan? I was hoping he would sit with me." Hermione asked. Vegeta huffed, having little patience for Gohan's newfound romance. "Yes, yes, I'm sure the boy will be joining your ridiculous little gang shortly, have no fear."

Soon, they had reached the judge's table. Hermione, Neville, Fred, and George gave their well-wishes to Harry before retreating to the stands.

For the first time, Vegeta noticed that Harry was wearing swimwear, a pair of crimson trunks. He looked at Fleur, who was wearing a silver one-piece, and Krum, who wore beige shorts and a tank top.

"Why are you all wearing such garb?" Vegeta demanded. "Um, because we're about to be swimming." Krum deadpanned. "Didn't Gohan tell you about the egg?" Harry asked. "Which egg?" Vegeta raised his voice in confusion.

"The golden egg, the one from the first task." Ludo Bagman said, looking mortified. "Oh, that. I think I lost it. Oh well, no matter." Vegeta said noncommittally. "Um…right. You all have one hour to retrieve your precious person. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to start drinking." Bagman retreated back to the judge's table.

"Sir, it's early in the morning!" Percy Weasley protested at the table. "I don't give a damn, Weatherby, just get me a firewhiskey in five minutes or you're fired!"

"Wait, we're supposed to rescue the person most dear to us?! How is that possible if I'm still here?" Vegeta was experiencing an existential crisis while the other three champions had already dove in the water.

_"Wait…Kakarrot is missing….that must mean…" _The cogs in Vegeta's mind were finally arriving to a conclusion. "YOU BASTARDS!" He powered up to Super Saiyan, the heat of his aura felt by every member of the student audience.

"Oh man, looks like Vegeta figured out who was kidnapped." Gohan said to himself as he discreetly flew into the stands. He snuck up behind Hermione and captured her in a hug, causing an adorable squeak to escape from her lips.

"Hey, it looks like Uncle Vegeta is having a breakdown." She joked while Gohan nuzzled her frizzy hair. "Don't worry, he has those all the time."

"NO ONE LAYS A FINGER ON KAKAROTT EXCEPT ME! DO YOU HEAR ME!? NO ONE!" Vegeta ripped off his shirt before flying into the lake with a sonic boom, his screams echoing in the arena.

"Aw, Goku and Vegeta make such an adorable couple!" Lavender Brown cooed from the stands, to the assent of the numerous yaoi fangirls at Hogwarts. "So, are those two an item?" Professor McGonagall asked, a faint blush on her cheeks. "I'm sure their relationship is very special, Minerva." Dumbledore said cheerfully.

Vegeta flew through the water at speeds nearing the speed of light, and he only had to surface for air once before he found Goku chained to a rock near a village of Merpeople.

_"Those punks dare think they can kill Kakarott before me!" _Vegeta mentally growled before using a ki blast to melt the iron bindings. _"Kakarrot…how could you let them so this to you!? You're a Super Saiyan, there's no way you should ever be held by mere steel!"_

After securing his Saiyan brother in a bridal carry, Vegeta dropped out of his Super Saiyan form and surfaced. Seeing the two sculpted, dripping wet men together made nearly the entire post-pubescent population of Hogwarts squee in delight. Including Hermione.

"I don't get it, what's the big deal?" Gohan asked. "Oh, uh, I'm just really happy that your dad is safe." Hermione lied. "Well yeah, Vegeta would hunt my dad down to the ends of the Earth if he thought that he was in danger." Gohan neglected to mention that the only reason Vegeta would do so is because he wanted to be the one to kill Goku with his own hands.

"Oh, I just hope that Harry is safe!" Hermione worried. "Don't worry, Neville hooked him up with that good gillyweed." Fred said sarcastically. "Hey now, don't go spreading that reputation around, Neville will be in danger." Gohan said.

Neville, who until this point had been largely silent, straightened.

"Who are you talking to right now?" The normally timid boy said in a dangerously quiet tone. "Who is that you think you see? Do you know how many galleons I make a year selling gillyweed? Even If I told you, you wouldn't believe it. Let me clue you all in- I'm not in danger, I am the danger! A guy opens his front door and gets Avada Kedavra'd, and you think that of me!? I am the one who knocks!"

"Alright Neville, relax." George laughed.

Goku was released from the Somnium spell as soon as he was above water, the pure-hearted Saiyan gasping and sputtering water from his lungs. "Vegeta…you saved me! Thanks buddy!" Vegeta dumped Goku on the ground, an expression of disgust on his face.

"How much time do I have left?" Vegeta asked the judges. "Of the one hour remaining, you have 59 minutes and 35 seconds remaining. On this basis alone, you receive tens across the board for your completion of the Second Task, Prince Vegeta." Dumbledore said genially.

Vegeta was happy with this result, but he was somewhat displeased that he would have to wait an hour with Kakarrot for the rest of the champions to return. Goku tried to distract Vegeta with inane small talk, but the Prince was not having any of it.

"Why are there even spectator seats? We can't even see anything, and we have to be here for an hour." Draco Malfoy grumbled as he settled down next to Gohan. "Who the hell said you could hang out with us?" Fred said in distaste.

Eventually, however, another champion resurfaced. Fleur had appeared on the shoreline, covered in blood and scratches. She was panting, and her face was furious with shame. A medical crew quickly made their way to her, bringing bandages and blankets.

"Oh no! She wasn't able to get her hostage!" Goku exclaimed. "Really? She failed at such a simple task? How pathetic." Vegeta said dismissively.

Soon after, Krum emerged with Angelica, his half-shark transfiguration wearing off. "I gotta admit, Krum turning into a shark is pretty badass." Fred and George said simultaneously. "True." Gohan assented.

"Where is Harry? Why is he taking so long?" Hermione worried. "The weed didn't wear off, did it?" Gohan asked. Neville scoffed. "Impossible, I gave him the good stuff. He will be fine for exactly one hour."

However, the time limit passed, and the crowd grew increasingly restless. Eventually, however, Harry did return, gasping and sputtering for breath. He hoisted Ron and, strangely, a little girl above the water's surface.

Harry's friends bolted down to the water's edge, grabbing various towels along the way. When they reached Harry, they drug him further away from the cold water. All traces of his Gillyweed transformation were gone. He no longer had gills or webbed fins.

Strangely, Fleur was just as frenzied as Hermione was, frantically attending to the young girl. "Gabrielle! I'm so glad that you're safe!" She kissed the girl's cheeks, clearly very relieved.

Harry was administered a hot potion by Madam Pomfrey, and Gohan used his ki to dry Harry's clothes and hair. When they were finished, Harry felt comfortable, dry, and warm, as if he had just emerged from a drying machine.

"Atta boy, Harry!" George applauded. "You saved the ginger princess!" Fred said, ribbing the red-faced Ron. Harry wanted to laugh, but he was far too exhausted to do anything but a pained wheeze.

"The Gillyweed worked great, Nev." Harry said in a low voice. "I knew it would. However, the Gillyweed's effectiveness is completely dependent on the wizard that uses it. And it's safe to say that you used it well." Neville said with verve.

Harry chuckled; Neville always sounded so confident whenever he spoke about Herbology-related matters.

The judges soon awarded the points for each of the champions. Vegeta's chokehold on the first-place spot was maintained, receiving the highest amount of points possible from each of the judges. To everyone's surprise though, Harry had risen to second place, the judge's panel praising his heroic rescue of Grielle, as well as Ron.

Krum then took third, with Fleur in last place, due to her failure in the rescue. Harry couldn't believe it; he had passed the second task! He went off to celebrate with his friends while Goku and Vegeta dove into the water. They were hungry, and Grindylow Sushi was the foremost item on the menu.

**A/N**

**Greetings, lovely readers, and thanks for reading the ninth chapter of Never Tickle A Sleeping Dragon!**

**I apologize for this chapter coming out a bit late, but real life obligations beckon, and May is going to be a particularly busy month. Don't worry, I'll make sure to get chapters out on a semi-frequent basis. Thanks again for reading!**


	10. A MAZING GRACE

In the next few weeks, all the student body of Hogwarts wanted to do was pester Harry, Ron, and the other champions and hostages about the task. Harry and Vegeta quickly grew tired of the attention (and Vegeta never before would have thought that he would have tired of attention).

Goku magnanimously told the story every time he was asked. He was a good storyteller, and the kids were always rapt with attention whenever he spoke of the merpeople, or the taste of Grindylow Sushi.

Ron also became much more popular as a result of his status as hostage, and the ginger was rather enjoying his 15 minutes of fame. As time went on, Ron had begun changing the details of the story to make himself more and more badass.

At first, he had remained fairly honest about his status as a helpless captive, although after only three days, he had become the Legendary Slayer of Merpeople, and rumors had begun to fly about Ron's magical power rivaling that of Vegeta.

They went into March, the weather becoming dry and pleasant. Cruel winds whipped around the campus, sending the post owls off-course and delaying the mail. That Friday, ruffled and disheveled owls made their way into the Great Hall, a brown owl delivering a letter to Harry.

Gohan was sitting at breakfast with Harry, Ron, and Hermione, something he rarely did, since he tended to rise much earlier than them. "Ooh, who did you get mail from, Harry?" Gohan asked.

Harry held a ragged piece of parchment in his hands, his green eyes wide. _"Be at stile at end of road in Hogsmeade (past Dervish and Banges) at two o' clock on Saturday. Bring as much food as you can." _

"Snuffles wrote again." Harry murmured, passing the note to Hermione. "Who is Snuffles?" Gohan asked, a little more suspiciously than before. "Um, Snuffles is our….tax collector. Yes, our tax collector." Ron said with transparent dishonesty. "You guys have to pay taxes?" Gohan raised an eyebrow.

"Yes, and we have to go to Hogsmeade at two this Saturday to deliver our financial report." Harry said. Gohan frowned. "Right. I don't suppose I could meet your tax collector then? He seems like a nice guy."

Harry, Ron, and Hermione shared a glance. Harry sighed. "…Sure."

That next day, the four traveled leisurely to the wizarding village of Hogsmeade, a tourist trap that economically survived on the silly impulse purchases of teenagers trying to impress their peers.

Hermione bought Gohan a variety of magical candies from Honeydukes. Gohan's Saiyan stomach was able to tolerate the strange sweets extraordinarily well, until the Pepper Imps, that is.

"AUGH! HOT! HOT!" Gohan jumped about on the Hogsmeade main road, his tongue flaming. "Well, that's what you get for eating twelve of them at once!" Hermione admonished. However, her constant giggling undermined the strict tone she was going for.

"I remember Professor Dumbledore told me that he had once eaten fifteen Pepper Imps in a single sitting during his youth. His bowel movements were never quite the same since." Harry exposited while laughing.

Gohan jumped into a snow pile, dumping scoops of snow into his mouth to stem the heat. While laughing, Ron caught sight of a big black dog at the end of the street. He nudged Harry. "Look, there's Snuffles."

Harry's head swiveled to the village gates. He saw the black dog wag its tail to him before turning around and strutting through the gate. Harry quickly dragged Ron, Hermione, and Gohan after the dog.

They followed Sirius up a mountain covered with jagged rocks and uneven terrain. Bounding up the slope was easy for the dog, but the four students were quick to resort to flying.

Soon, Sirius slipped into a cave on the side of the hill, the four students quick to follow. "Your tax collector is a dog? That's kinda weird. Then again, I guess it's no stranger than a dog being president." Gohan mumbled to himself.

Suddenly, the dog transformed into a human, causing Gohan to gasp in shock. The man was thin as a rail, with crooked teeth and straggly, shoulder-length dark hair. Overall, Gohan found his appearance rather frightening, although this impression was offset by the disarmingly friendly smile the man gave.

"Awesome! Chicken!" Sirus hungrily snatched the bag of fried chicken and rolls that Harry had brought. After chowing down on a drumstick, Sirus sighed in contentment. "After eating rats for the past few weeks, this is simply heaven."

"C'mon Sirius, what are you doing here?" Harry asked, cutting straight to the point. "What, aren't you going to introduce me to Superboy over here?" Sirius snarked.

"Hi, I'm Gohan. Nice to meet you." Gohan said meekly. "So, you're the one who taught my godson how to fly?" Sirius questioned sharply. "Wait, Harry's your godson?" Gohan asked, looking between Sirius and Harry.

"That's right. Sirius….well, he's the only family I've got left." Harry said ruefully. "Yeah, yeah, less angsting, more flight training! C'mon, I wanna learn how to fly too!" Sirius said excitedly.

"Um, it's not really something you can learn in an afternoon. I had to teach Harry every day for two hours, and he only mastered it after a month." Gohan explained. Sirius' face fell.

"Oh, what a shame. Oh well, maybe some other time. Now then, tell me everything that's been going on at the school."

Harry, Ron, and Hermione took turns filling Sirius in on the happenings at Hogwarts. For both Sirius and Gohan it was a bevy of new information. "So, have you any clues as to what the Third Task will be?" Sirius asked as he finished off the last of his chicken.

"None so far, although they did say that we'll be informed about it in a few weeks." Harry responded. "Wow, that's kind of lame. What happened to the whole mystery aspect they had going before?" Ron chuckled. "I'm not complaining, honestly." Harry laughed.

"Whatever it is, it can't be much worse than the previous tasks." Gohan said. "You can never be too careful. Just because it won't be much worse doesn't mean it will be better. In fact, since this is the last opportunity whoever entered your name into the Goblet will have to kill you, he'll probably pull out all the stops on this one." Sirius theorized.

"In that case, we'll be on our guard." Hermione nodded. "See to it that you do. And stay on the lookout for Crouch. I don't trust him." Sirius added. "For what it's worth, I get a bad feeling from Moody as well." Gohan said.

Sirius gave him an incredulous look, as did the trio. "Come now, Moody might be a bit frightening, but he would never try to kill Harry. Hell, during the war, Moody personally saved Harry's mother, Lily, from a Death Eater ambush."

"I don't think that Moody's a bad guy." Ron added. "Maybe you're right. Just a bad feeling, I suppose." Gohan said quietly, remaining thoroughly suspicious of the Dark Arts teacher.

Sirius rubbed his tired eyes. "What's the time?" "Half past three." Hermione said. "Well, you lot better return to school. Now then, you all better not sneak out of school just to visit me. Keep me posted on what happens in the school; I still want to know about anything suspicious."

Sirius transformed back into his dog form before escorting the students down to the village. He allowed each of them to pet him on the head before scrounging up a paper and ran out of sight.

"He must really like you, Harry. Imagine having to live off rats." Ron chuckled as they made their way back to the castle.

The weather brightened considerably over the next few months, the lake unfreezing and the grass turning green once again. The general mood around the castle improved as well, the dour cynicism of winter giving way to the hopeful attitudes of spring.

Even though the third task was less than a month away, Harry felt elated about his chances. Despite Sirius' warnings, he felt more confident than ever. He had a solid support network of friends. With Hermione, Gohan, the Weasely's, and the rest of the Gryffindors at his back, Harry felt like a true champion for the first time since his name had been chosen from the Goblet. Even Draco was less acrimonious towards him than usual.

And so it was with bracing vigor that Harry strolled down to the Quidditch pitch at half-past eight on the last night of May. The sky was lit orange, and birds lazily flew about in the sky. Harry decided to join them, levitating.

"There really is now better way to travel, wouldn't you say?" A voice called out from behind. Harry turned around to find Vegeta, the Prince's robes flapping in the breeze.

"What do you suppose it's going to be?" Harry asked, affecting a casual tone. Vegeta smirked, folding his arms. "Well, considering that they're building a giant hedge maze over there, I'd guess it has something to do with that." Vegeta mocked, pointing at the enormous shrubbery labyrinth that now covered the field. Long, winding paths twisted and crisscrossed in every direction.

"What have they done to the Quidditch pitch?!" Harry's brow furrowed in anger and confusion before the boy zoomed towards the maze. Vegeta chuckled, lazily following him.

They caught sight of Ludo Bagman standing near the edge of the bleachers with Fleur and Krum. "Show-offs." Krum grumbled under his breath. When Fleur saw Harry, she beamed. She had started being much nicer to Harry ever since he had saved her sister from the lake.

"Hello, all!" Ludo Bagman said with cheese. "Now that we're all here, I can tell you all about the task! Don't worry, you'll have your Quidditch pitch back before the year is out!"

"Wait, this is why we didn't have Quidditch this year? Because you needed the pitch for this task?" Harry said, his voice rising. "Well, yes." Bagman responded. "But the season would have already been over by the time of the Third Task anyways! This is nonsense!" Harry thundered.

Bagman laughed nervously, tugging at the collar of his bright purple polo shirt. "Erm…anyways, the task will be a maze." Vegeta chuckled again, but Bagman paid him no mind. "The Triwizard Cup will situated at the center of the maze. Whomever is the first to touch it will receive full marks."

"We simply have to get through the maze?" Fleur questioned. "Yes. By the way, there will be no flying allowed." Bagman delievered this news smugly, but Vegeta cackled even more.

"Ah, that's good! It'll give the other children a fighting chance then." "Asshole." Fleur muttered under her breath.

"I'm glad to see that you are so sporting, Mr. Vegeta. I wish you all the best of luck getting past the obstacles Professor Hagrid has supplied. The order in which each of you will enter the maze is determined by your current amount of points. Naturally, this means that Mr. Vegeta will enter first, then Harry, then Mr. Krum, and finally, Miss Delacour. Don't worry, you'll all have a fighting chance once you enter." Bagman explained.

Vegeta opened his mouth to say another mean-spirited remark, but he suddenly felt a weak ki signature on the edge of the Forbidden Forest. _"Hmm, I wonder who that could be."_ After tuning n further, he determined that the ki belonged to none of the Z-Fighters.

"In that case, it is none of my business." Vegeta muttered to himself. Once the meeting was over, the Prince swiftly flew back to his dorms. It was fortunate for Mr. Crouch that Harry happened to catch sight of his straggling frame while in flight.

A short time later, after Harry reported the strange appearance and disappearance of Crouch to Dumbledore, he reconvened with his friends to discuss the matter.

"Dumbledore said I couldn't deliver any mail until tomorrow morning." Harry said morosely. "This is insane! I mean, this is beginning to look like some sort of international conspiracy. Even Dumbledore seems a little wigged out." Ron panicked.

"Calm yourself, Ronald, I'm sure there's an explanation to be found." Hermione rationed. Gohan sat between the three of them, a puzzled expression on his boyish face.

He had no clue about any of the political maneuvering that went on in the wizarding world. He was used to his conflicts being simple and violent, a stark contrast to the multi-layered mystery that surrounded the Triwizard Tournament. Thus, he had little advice to offer Harry other than this;

"I feel like once we get through the tournament, things will begin to simplify." He said sagely to Harry. In a way, he felt that this advice applied to himself as well. Everything seemed to be building towards the Third Task, like some sort of pressure to a geyser. He knew that there was no way the Third Task would have anything to do with getting back to his own world, but the feeling lingered.

Then again, getting back to his world had diminished greatly on his overall list of priorities. Even with the surmounting peril of the Triwizard Tournament, Gohan felt truly, palpably content for the first time since he was four years old.

He was the pinnacle of health; his body practically glowed with youthful vigor, and he possessed a zen confidence about him ever since his battle with Vegeta. In truth, when he thought of his old universe, he thought of Frieza, the androids, and Cell. He thought of his mother smothering him with academic pressure. His desires were murky and undecided.

As the Spring progressed, Gohan helped Hermione teach Harry a variety of dueling spells for the Third Task. Soon, Harry's arsenal had greatly improved, with _Stupefy_, _Impedimenta_, and _Reducto _under his belt.

Finally, the day of the Third Task arrived. The Great Hall was rowdy at Breakfast, the tables magically stretched to accomodate boy the ministry officials that had arrived overnight to set up the task.

Harry read the newspaper, his nose scrunched in disgust. "Ugh, Rita Skeeter again." "So what, are you a insane psychopath this time, or a tortured pretty boy in desperate need of fangirls?" Ron asked while chewing on bacon.

"The former." Harry chuckled. "Still, I don't get how she could have possibly known I had that dream in Divination. Maybe she interviewed Trelawney."

"Well, I have a theory, but…I don't know for sure. I'm going to the library to do more research!" Hermione gave Gohan a quick kiss on the cheek before rushing off. "Man, she does that a lot." Gohan said, blushing.

Professor McGonagall approached the group, a faint smile on her face. "Potter, the champions will be congregating in the chamber off the hall after Breakfast." "But the task's not until tonight!" Harry said with his mouth full of egg, spitting several chunks down the front of his shirt.

"Yes, I'm aware. However, the families of the champions are invited to watch the task. This will be simply be a chance for you to greet them." She responded crisply before moving away. Harry gaped after her.

"Who does she expect to show up, the Durselys?" He said incredulously. Gohan said nothing in response. Inwardly, Gohan thought it was rather tasteless to inform an orphan that the other champion's families would be visiting.

"I dunno, but we have to leave, or else we'll be late for Binns. Come on, Gohan." Ron said, picking up his bookbag. Their History of Magic final was that morning, and both Ron and Gohan planned to cheat off of Hermione, as neither of them had paid any attention in the class whatsoever. Gohan tried at first, but even his diligence was eroded by the ghostly Binns and his endless droning. They strolled up to the classroom with resigned yawns.

"Mr. Vegeta." Snape said quietly. Too quietly, it seemed, for Vegeta did not look up from his brodbignagian plate of pancakes at all when Snape spoke. It was the usual breakfast affair for Vegeta and Goku. As a fun competition to start the day off, whenever pancakes or served, the two Saiyans tried to see who could build the largest tower.

Goku currently had the largest one, currently stretching 28 feet into the air. Krillin and Piccolo sat in silence and admiration as the two rivals ate. "Mr. Vegeta!' Snape repeated.

Vegeta stabbed his fork into the wooden table before turning to face Snape. "Can't you see I'm in the middle of something important?!" He growled.

Snape looked disbelievingly at the display. Goku was drinking a bottle of maple Syrup, Krillin was trying to balance the precariously swaying tower of flapjacks, and Piccolo was watching in pure amusement.

"Ah yes, excuse for intervening. I merely wished to inform you that the champions are required to meet in the chamber off the hall after breakfast." The potions master said, waspish. "In that case, I'll probably swing by sometime in the next four hours." Vegeta replied cheekily. "You'll be there at nine." Snape said before stalking away to the head table.

Snape approached Dumbledore, who was also making a tower of pancakes, albeit on a much smaller scale than Goku's. Snape pinched the bridge of his nose, wondering how the syrup didn't get caught in his beard.

"Professor Dumbledore, do you have any brandy?" Snape asked. "Severus, my boy, it is early in the morning!" Dumbledore admonished, passing a flask to Snape under the table. Snape nodded in silent appreciation before stomping down to the dungeons.

Harry trudged into the meeting room, rather sullen. He ws the last of the champions to arrive, and each of the families were off in a corner of the room. The Z-Fighters were chatting inconsequentially near a large picture window.

_"Don't they have exams?"_ Harry wondered. Krum and Fleur were being pep-talked by their parents in Bulgarian and French, respectively. Gabreille was also there, and she waved at Harry adorably as he walked in. Then, to his shock, he saw Mrs. Weasely and Bill waiting for him near the fireplace.

"Surprise!" Mrs. Weasely beamed at Harry, giving him a hug and a kiss on the cheek. "Thought we'd come down to watch you!"

"All right, Harry?" Bill grinned, shaking Harry's hand. "Charlie wanted to come watch as well, but he couldn't get any time off. He said you were incredible against the dragons."

"Thanks so much for coming, you guys!" Harry smiled. He then spent most of the morning offering the two Weasely's a tour across the grounds, which ha dchanged somewhat since their school days. Molly was surprised to see the Whomping Willow, while Bill was glad to hear that Sir Cadogan the crazy knight still had his painting in the castle.

They returned to the Greal Hall at dinner. "Mum- Bill! What are you doing here?" Ron said as he and Gohan sat at the Gryffindor table. "Thought we'd come and watch Harry in Third Task. I must say, makes a lovely change, not having to cook." Molly said, before peering over Ron's shoulder at Gohan.

"Hello? And who is this?" She asked in a stage whisper to Harry. "Hi miss, my name is Gohan. I'm a friend of Harry and Ron's." He said timidly, shaking her hand. "Oh you are simply adorable." She said, cooing.

"Oy, are you the kid that taught Harry how to fly?" Bill asked with a raised eyebrow. "Um, yes." Gohan said, scratching the back of his head. "Wicked cool! Man, Toriyama Academy's curriculum must be awesome." Bill said. "Sure, let's go with that." Gohan chuckled nervously.

Soon, Fred, George, and Ginny joined them, and Harry felt as if he were back at the Burrow again. Hermione joined them later, stewing in thought even as she hugged Gohan.

As the sky faded from blue to a warm, dusky purple, Dumbledore stood at the golden podium at the staff table, and silence fell. "Ladies and Gentlemen, in five minutes time, I will be asking you to make your way down to the Quidditch field for the Third Task. Champions will be escorted by Mr. Bagman at this time."

Harry and Vegeta stood up, the Great Hall applauding them. They were wished good luck by their friends (or at least the closest thing to in Vegeta's case). "Nervous?" Vegeta asked mockingly as they flew down to the pitch.

"No way." Harry responded.

The sky was a deep blue now, and the first stars were beginning to show. Great wooden sets of bleachers rose over the hedge maze, the shrubs now being over twenty feet tall.

_"Navigating this thing without flying should be fun."_ Vegeta thought. They came across McGonagall, Flitwick, Hagrid, and Moody were waiting near the front of the maze.

"We'll be working security detail, so if you need to be rescued, send red spark into the air, and one of us will come." McGonagall explained. "I doubt that will be necessary." Vegeta commented. "Of course not, Mr. Vegeta." McGonagall grumbled. Vegeta smirked, shooting a glare Moody's way before walking over to where the champions were supposed to gather.

Harry, Fleur, and Krum were there. "Alright, Mr. Vegeta, since you are ahead by 100 points, you will get 100 seconds for a head start. You may enter the maze now." Bagman said.

Vegeta sauntered into the towering black shadows of the maze. Goku, Piccolo, and Krillin stared after him. "Does anyone else have the chills for some reason?" Krillin said, rubbing his shoulders. "Yeah, no kidding! I feel something strange, like something is about to happen." Goku said seriously. Piccolo was meditating intensely, his face tense in concentration.

Vegeta walked leisurely through the dark and creepy maze, using a ball of energy to serve as a torch. Fifteen minutes in, he started hearing guttural hissing noises from seemingly nowhere.

"Ah, so is more to this maze than meets the eye. Come out, then." Vegeta said to the darkness. Four fully grown Blast-Ended Skrewts descended from the shadows. They were easily ten feet tall, their shells hard enough to resist tank shells.

They scuttled towards Vegeta, clearly planning to disembowel him. "Hagrid's monsters, eh? Hmph, at least they lived up to the hype." Using the energy ball already in his hand, Vegeta atomized all four Skrewts in one fluid spinning motion before moving on.

Some time later, Vegeta heard footsteps behind him. "Avada Kedavra!" Viktor Krum's voice shouted. The green jet of light barely missed Vegeta, and the Saiyan heard a keenining, whistling noise as it passed. "Wait…if that hit me, I really would have died!"

Vegeta spun around, dodging another killing curse from Krum. "Well kid, say hello to Frieza for me in Hell!" Vegeta prepared to viciously murder Krum, until he saw a dazed, confused look in the Bulgarian's eyes.

"Ah, he must be under mind control. How strange." Vegeta, in lieu of killing Krum, knocked him unconscious with a neck chop.

The rest of the maze was rather droll for the Saiyan Prince. A sphinx tried to make him solve a riddle, but Vegeta was not much of a lateral thinker, so he simply destroyed the sphinx with a punch. Soon, he came across the Triwizard Cup at the center of the maze.

The trophy was truly glorious. The cup glowed with blue and silver light, gleaming in the darkness of the labyrinth. "Excellent." Vegeta said under his breath as he advanced.

Interestingly, Harry Potter had arrived at the cup at the same time Vegeta did. _"The boy is only a regular human, and yet he was able to complete this maze as fast as I."_ Vegeta thought with grudging respect.

"Vegeta." Harry greeted stiffly. "Boy." Vegeta said back. After a long and tense silence, Harry finally broke it with a chuckle. "Man, it's been a weird year."

"You can say that again, kid." Vegeta, surprisingly, smirked. "It seems that we're finally done though." Harry said. He knew that there was no way Vegeta would ever let him have the cup in a million years. Frankly, the boy was perfectly alright with this. After such a long journey, the cup itself held little meaning to him.

"You're alright, kid." Vegeta said. "But this time, I win."

"Just grab it so that we can get out of here already." Harry responded.

Vegeta grabbed the cup. Suddenly, he felt a jerk just below his navel, disappearing in a swirl of wind and color.

Meanwhile, in the depths of space, Cell floated, a smirk on his humanoid face. "At long last, the barriers of time and space bow before me, the Perfect Being. At long last, Son Goku will die by my hand. But first..."

Cell jumped to full power before making clawed motions with both of his hands. Space itself warped in his hands like putty, and Cell formed a rip in space-time using nothing but his own energy. In his sight was the planet Earth.

He flew through the portal, sensing out the energy of a very particular half-Saiyan. He zoomed into the Terran atmosphere, his body catching fire upon entry. This barely bothered him as he crashed through the Capsule Corporation building. Trunks was training, wearing his father's Saiyan armor.

Cell had approached so quickly, Trunks did not even register the bio-androids presence until he was right in front of him. "I-Impossible!" Trunks sputtered.

"Your year is up. Fortunately for you though, I have found a way of reuniting with our special friends." Cell said ominously. "What?" Trunks could not think of anything to say.

"Come on; it's time for a family reunion!" Cell yanked Trunks by the arm, leading the half-Saiyan into space. Trunks transformed into a Super Saiyan, the golden aura protecting him from immediate death at the vacuum of space. Even then, he could not shake Cell's grip.

Cell ripped open another portal, and through it Trunks could make out an ornate European castle. The familiar ki signatures of Goku, Gohan, Vegeta, Piccolo, and Krillin were readily apparent to him.

_"This is.. a portal to another world!"_ Trunks thought. The Saiyan from the future had no choice but to enter the portal, lest he suffocate in the coldness of space.

Cell followed, taking his first steps onto the grounds of Hogwarts.

**A/N**

**Greetings, lovely readers, and thanks for reading the tenth chapter of Never Tickle A Sleeping Dragon!**

**The climax has arrived! Cell has set foot on the grounds of Hogwarts, while Vegeta has grabbed the portkey leading to Little Hangleton! Will the combined villainy of Cell and Voldemort prove too much for our heroes? Find out next time!**


	11. HEARTS OF LIONS

The Z-Fighters abruptly stood once they sensed Cell's presence. They simultaneously powered up, Goku and Gohan transforming into Super Saiyans.

"Everyone! You need to get out of here, now!" Goku ordered forcefully, all of previous good cheer gone. "Hurry! You're all in danger!" Piccolo shouted, sending the audience into a panic. Everyone ran to and fro, screaming like decapitated chickens.

"What happened to Vegeta? His ki just disappeared and reappeared a few hundred miles away!" Krillin shouted. "Probably part of the task or something. It doesn't matter, he'll be joining us shortly. We should be concerned about getting the civilians to safety!" Piccolo responded, discarding his turban, cape, and Ravenclaw robes, revealing the purple gi he was wearing underneath.

Goku flew down to Dumbledore. "Mr. Goku, what is the meaning of this?" Dumbledore asked placatingly. Goku grimaced. "Bumblebee, a great evil has breached the defenses of this castle. My friends are I are the only ones who can fight it. I'm sure you've guessed it by now, but we're not normal wizards."

While Goku spoke, Dumbledore gazed into the Saiyan's sea-green eyes, reading his mind with Legilimency. "Yes, I understand. We shall prepare an evacuation to Hogsmeade right away."

"That won't be enough. You all will need to get as far away as humanly possible, and even then it might not be enough. But you need to do it fast!" Goku said urgently.

"Very well. I wish you the best of luck in dealing with this "Cell" creature, Goku." Dumbledore winked. Goku blinked, confused for a moment, before piecing it together_. "Shoot, I must have let him read my mind! Oh well, guess it doesn't matter much now."_ The Saiyan thought.

"No, it really doesn't." Dumbledore said, eyes twinkling. "Alright, see ya later, Bumblebee!" Goku smiled briefly before running off to join his friends.

"Krillin! I need to you help transmit these people to safety!" Goku asked. The monk nodded, somewhat despondently. "Well yeah, not like I'm gonna be much help against Cell."

Goku paused, placing a hand on his best friend's shoulder. "Hey now, don't be like that. Everyone has an important part to play, and keeping innocent people alive is no small task. I believe in you, Krillin."

Krillin smiled. "Thanks, Goku. I'll make sure to keep these people safe." He then fistbumped Goku before the Saiyan flew into the air.

"Come on son, let's roll!" Goku said when he joined Piccolo in midair. "Right! Gohan called back, preparing to shoot skyward.

"Wait!" Hermione shouted, grabbing his muscular arm. "What's happening? Where are you going?"

Gohan looked softly upon her. "I'm so sorry, you guys. An old enemy of my family has followed us here, and wants nothing less than the destruction of planet Earth itself."

"Run that by me one more time." Neville said, deadpan. Gohan chuckled grimly. "I have to go now. This enemy is powerful, and it's gonna take everything we have to even have a chance of beating him."

"Well, you'll have us backing you up, so it should be pretty easy." Ron said, drawing his wand. Gohan did not laugh. "No way. I won't allow any harm to befall you. Stay here and follow Professor Dumbledore's orders. I'm sorry that I threw you all into danger like this-"

Suddenly, Gohan's speech was cut off. Hermione was giving him a passionate, long kiss, and the half-Saiyan understandably could not continue to talk. She pulled back, her cheeks dusted red.

"Don't you dare blame yourself, Gohan! We'll never be in danger, as long as you're around! Now get there and…kick that guy's arse!" She then looked partially ashamed from saying a curse word.

"Goodness, little miss Granger using a naughty curse word?" Fred joked before turning to Gohan. "Just do what you need to do. We'll be right behind you." He said in a rare display of sincerity.

"Metaphorically, of course." George said. "You got this, Gohan!" Neville said supportively, clapping his friend on the back. "Don't you dare bite it out there, Gohan!" Ron said gruffly. _"I'll never forgive you if you make Hermione cry!"_ he thought.

Gohan nearly teared up; having the support of his companions was a truly indescribable feeling. At that moment, there was nothing he could not do. He turned to Hermione, longing gazes exchanged between them.

"You're the best!" He said gratefully before joining his fathers in flight.

It was only a few moments before the Z-Fighters zoomed across the grounds, where Cell and Trunks were standing apart. Strangely, as they approached, they heard a repetitive electro synth beat. The music grew louder and louder as they approached the evil bio-android.

Cell smirked coldly as Goku, Piccolo, and Gohan touched down next to Trunks. His golden aura blotted out the nighttime stars, his green exoskeleton seeming to glow in the dark.

The other Z-Warriors nodded wordlessly to Trunks; they wished to greet him more warmly, but they could not afford to let their guards down for even a millisecond in the presence of Cell.

The music reached its noisy pinnacle before suddenly disappearing in a burst of static. "Hello, _friends_." Cell said, his voice far colder than Absolute Zero. "Such a heartwarming family reunion, isn't it? I missed seeing my brothers. And we have so much catching up to do."

"You are no more my brother than Raditz was. So, since you're obviously begging to tell us, how did you manage it? We thought travelling through dimensions was impossible." Goku said grimly.

"As the Perfect Being, I consider it my prerogative to break through the limits that have held back you lesser species for so long. For me, the barrier between dimensions is little more than a curtain of Milky Way stardust. All that is needed to transcend the piddly confines of space-time is a little extra push.

Of course, it is a task only I could perform. In truth, I had discovered it while researching your Instant Transmission technique, Goku. This was the end result." Cell explained pompously.

"Regrettably, I can only ever perform the technique in a vacuum. The atmospheric particles of a planet interfere too much with the technique's execution for it to work properly." Cell exposited this weakness freely; he clearly thought that it would make little difference in the long run.

"Fascinating." Piccolo said sarcastically. "You could teach a seminar on the scientific workings of your new technique at this very school."

"On the contrary," Cell said, playing along, "it is very difficult to teach at a school that doesn't exist. Now then, before the fun begins, where is our good pal Vegeta? He was always one of the more amusing attractions in your little zoo of gorillas and slugs."

"Actually, it's probably a good thing that he isn't here. Considering his track record, he'd probably find some excuse to help Cell even MORE!" Piccolo snarked. "You know, I wish you guys would stop bagging on my dad so often." Trunks frowned.

"Well, it is pretty easy." Gohan commented. "Yeah, it is!" Cell joked, and everyone had a good laugh at Trunks' expense before the atmosphere darkened once more.

"We've both come a long way, haven't we Cell? I hope you haven't forgotten what I said to you over a year ago." Goku said calmly. "Ah, yes, the sword of injustice speech? Truth be told, I found it rather cliché." Cell replied, dropping into a fighting stance.

"In that case, I'll have to speak to you in the only language you understand." Goku said, settling into a relaxed Turtle School Fighting Stance. "Piccolo, I'd like to fight in my usual gi. These robes hamper movement too much. Could you work your Clothes Beam magic on me?"

"Oh, I'm sure he hears that one all the time from the ladies." Cell snarked. Piccolo said nothing, firing his yellow Clothes Beam at Goku. The pure-hearted Saiyan's Gryffindor robes were replaced with the characteristic orange and blue of the Turtle School of martial arts.

On the right breast of the uniform was Master Roshi's kanji, but the back was emblazoned with the crest of Hogwarts. In this battle, Goku would be representing both schools he held dear to his heart.

_"Alright, Piccolo, Gohan, Trunks. I'm gonna make him think that this is a one-on-one fight. I'll feel him out, and then, when I give the signal, jump in." _Goku communicated telepathically. "_Got it!_" The three Z-Fighters responded.

The Super Saiyan stood across from the bio-android. Both warriors saw with diamond-like clarity, every blade of grass, every shift in the air appearing in sharp resolution. Goku was practically zen, while Cell was broiling with untamed power. A small cloud moved aside, revealing a brilliantly pale crescent moon.

Goku leapt at Cell first, going for a spinning kick. Cell blocked it easily, and Goku flipped over his shoulder before barraging the android with a series of punches. Cell parried the strikes flawlessly before aiming an upward kick to the Saiyan's gut.

Goku brought his knee to block the kick at the last second, and sparks flew from the impact of the blow. Both fighters caught each other's incoming jabs, their hands clasped in a brawler's lock.

They struggled against each other for a few moments before Goku slammed his hard head against Cell's, sending the bio-android reeling back. With a speedy jab, Goku landed a quick blow to Cell's abdomen.

The other fighters were amazed. "Their form is flawless, as expected." Piccolo commented. "What do you think, Gohan? I have no clue on how strong your dad is." Trunks asked. Gohan smiled. "My dad's the greatest! If anyone can beat Cell, it's definitely him!" The boy said with optimism.

Cell smirked. "Not bad at all, Goku. You seem to be one or two levels above the rest."

"Hard work forever pays." Was Goku's simple response. Cell chuckled. "We shall see just how ripe the fruits of your efforts are soon enough."

With that, Cell fired a golden energy ball at the Earth's hero. Goku managed to deflect it safely into the sky, but Cell kneed him in the face for his trouble. The bio-android followed it up with a barrage of blows, each punch capable of destroying moons. Goku blocked them all, his frontal defenses not giving an inch.

The Saiyan ducked underneath Cell, kicking him into the air with both legs. Giving chase, Goku began charging his signature move. "Kamehameha!"

A sky-blue energy beam zoomed at Cell. While it wasn't a particularly strong Kamehameha, it was powerful enough that Cell would have to block or evade. Cell scoffed, swatting the beam aside with a flick of the wrist. However, the monster wore no grin when Goku appeared behind him, planting a vicious fist into his back.

Cell responded in kind with an elbow to the face, and it seemed like Goku was going to hit the ground hard. At the last second though, the Saiyan halted his descent with his ki, a cloud of dust kicking up around him. "Keep it up, Goku!" Trunks cheered.

Goku threw himself back at Cell with a handspring, launching into an exchange of fisticuffs with the bio-android. Hundreds upon hundreds of blows were exchanged in the first few nanoseconds, their deadly dance weaving up and down the Hogwarts grounds.

"Ah, very skilled." Cell chuckled after Goku's latest dodge. The two warriors had gradually been picking up the pace of the battle, matching each other blow for blow every single time.

"Well, I find that facing strong opponents brings out the best in me." Goku responded humbly. "Is that so? In that case, then there is no excuse for you not to be at the very peak of your abilities." Cell replied.

_"Goku is powerful, far beyond my expectations. Still, I should not be giving him false hope like this. It is time for him to feel the first drop of despair in my smoothie of destruction. Wait…"_ Cell mentally berated himself for his less-than-perfect analogy.

"Well, I suppose this will conclude the warmup, then?" Cell asked companionably. "Yeah…" Goku responded.

The Saiyan's eyes hardened before he crossed his arms in front of him. A golden aura coalesced around him, his power shaking the very ground itself. When he finished, Goku looked like Apollo himself; a sun god brought down to Earth.

Cell did the same, purple aura exuding from his exoskeleton as his power blew away any stray cirrus clouds, causing the night sky to become completely clear.

"Goku is at full power." Piccolo said seriously. "Wow, it's…incredible!" Trunks was amazed. "Now, Dad!" Gohan whispered.

Goku and Cell slowly approached each other before coming to halt. They stood, tall and proud, staring into each other's eyes. "Do it." Cell said in a low one. "Ok."

Goku planted his fist into Cell's gut before following it up with a hard elbow to the back, finishing the combo by kicking cell into the air once again. Cell stopped himself abruptly, looking distinctly unruffled.

Moving at lightspeed, Cell backhanded Goku across the field, before kicking him into the dirt. "What's the matter, Goku? Am I too fast for you?" Cell mocked.

Goku frantically attempted to keep pace with Cell as they flashed to and from across the grounds, kicking up waves of dust in their path. The grounds were being decimated; Hagrid's hut had been blown apart by a missed _kiai_ on Cell's part, and half the Forest had been razed by stray ki blasts by both parties. It was a miracle the castle hadn't been harmed yet, but Piccolo, Gohan, and Trunks stood vigilant, ready to deflect anything that came its way.

Goku slammed his knee into Cell's gut as hard as he possibly could, but it as only a moment before Cell flashed away, hitting the Saiyan with a right haymaker. They broke off again in midair, Cell floating horizontally parallel to Goku.

"I confess that I am surprised. I thought that your impromptu hiatus from fighting would cause your skills to rust, but this is clearly not the case. It's a shame all the fights won't be this good." Cell said almost wistfully. "In that case, we'll have to make this one count!" Goku yelled before rushing at Cell again.

"_Portus…Portus…Portus…_" The Hogwarts teachers were organizing a mass exodus to the Beauxbatons Academy at Goku and Madame Maxime's behest. Apparition teams and Floo Powder regulation officers assisted on the Ministry's part while the teachers were mass-producing portkeys.

"_Portus_!" Snape incanted, a bleu glow washing over the judge's table. Every single object at their disposal would be needed to teleport the students to asylum.

"Severus, slow down. Your tenacity is admirable, but you will surely overtax your magic reserves at this rate." Dumbledore said, gently putting a hand on his charge's shoulder.

"This is no time to be concerned about me, Headmaster. Now then, where is Moody? Why is he not helping us?" Snape snapped. "Professor Moody is retrieving the champions from inside of the maze. I only hope that our dear Mr. Potter has avoided getting himself into trouble this time…" Dumbledore said.

Snape narrowed his black eyes. "I doubt it…" he muttered before pointing his wand at a stone on the ground. "_Portus…_" Snape suddenly looked up. In the distance, it looked like a series of supernovae were erupting all at once.

Cell was pursuing Goku ruthlessly, constantly firing machine-gun rounds of ki blasts from his palm. Just for the sake of creating chaos, he threw several yellow bolts towards the other Z-Fighters, as well as Hogwarts Castle. Luckily, the heroes were able to evade or deflect the blasts, but one stray beam completely shaved off the Hogwarts Astronomy tower.

"Oh man, Professor Bumblebee is NOT gonna be happy!" Goku whimpered, even as the energy blasts were nipping at his feet. The Saiyan responded to Cell's assault in kind by firing back a few blue beams of his own.

The pace of the battle had become much more serious. Goku knew the time for testing himself in combat against Cell was over. "_The collateral damage here is becoming too high! Tag in, you guys!" _Goku called.

Gohan was shocked; he did not expect his dad to truly ask for assistance. "Let's go!" The three Z-Warriors rushed towards Cell with reckless abandon.

Meanwhile, Vegeta had finally stopped spinning, and he landed with a crunch on dewey, cold grass. Dark clouds hung low in the sky, thunder booming in the distance. Vegeta stood woozily, dusting off his black and green jumpsuit.

Gazing around, Vegeta surmised that he was in a particularly ominous graveyard. Headstones were lined across both sides of the field, with an evil angel statue overlooking the cemetery. A yew tree loomed, nooses snaking from its limbs. Vegeta took a step, only to accidentally crush a human skull underfoot.

"Hmm, not exactly a picnic spot." Vegeta snarked to himself, pinching his temples. He felt a nasty headache coming on from the apparition. "I wonder if this is part of the task…perhaps the cup was a trap." He said, leering at the glowing blue and silver trophy on the ground.

Suddenly, Vegeta saw a hooded figure walk out from behind the wall of a church on the hill. His senses did not pick up the figure's ki at first; it was so weak, Vegeta could have mistaken it for a bird's, or perhaps a common insect.

The black-robed person held a bundle of clothes in its hands. "Ah, taking baby out for a walk, are we?" Vegeta called out, hoping for a response. He found one, a high, cold voice tearing at the walls of his mind.

"_Wormtail, do not kill him._" The hooded man nodded before drawing his wand. "_Crucio_!"

Vegeta had no chance to defend himself; the Cruciatus Curse was impossible to dodge or block. "AUGH!" Vegeta shrieked; this was without doubt the worst pain he had ever experienced. It felt like burning knives being slowly dragged over his skin, like being shocked with billions upon billions of electric volts.

Once it stopped, Vegeta flew as fast as he could towards the hooded man. He cocked his fist back, ready to pound this man into a bloody paste, but a millisecond before his punch would've landed, the man managed out another "_Crucio._"

Vegeta immediately collapsed to the ground, the coppery taste of blood filling his mouth. "_Crucio!_" The man repeated twenty times before he was sure that Vegeta had been incapacitated.

The prince could no longer move, his muscles seemingly filled with hot lead. Still, his consciousness remained stubbornly awake. "I will not die! Not before I can have my revenge!" The images of Cell and Goku flashed through his mind, but interestingly, they did not seem to linger as they usually did.

Instead, in his mind's eye, he saw the Slytherin students that looked up to him, even deified him.

He saw Gohan; the boy's relentless optimism speaking to him in a way it never had before.

He saw his two sons; one from the dark future, and the other, whose future would certainly be more fortunate than his counterpart's. Future Trunks had matured into a respectable warrior, but Vegeta knew it was his responsibility to raise his infant counterpart in the true ways of the Saiyans. It was the only way to preserve the culture that he had lost.

The last person he thought of was Bulma, the irksome woman. She was the same as him, but oh so different at the same time. She was the yang to his yang, the only woman in the universe who could match his temper and wit and energy. He made a vow to return to her, and no buck-toothed Death Eater slime was going to make a liar out of him!

He had more to live for than himself, and this was the first time he ever had to.

_"It seems as though even this Vegeta is reduced to the level of an ordinary man by the Unforgivable Curses."_ The baby said creepily. "M-Master, why do we not simply kill him?" The robe came down, revealing the whimpering voice of Peter Pettigrew, the treacherous former friend of Harry's parents.

"_My plans are far beyond your puny comprehension, you whinging child!_" The baby suddenly shouted. "_My revival will be complete as soon as my servant at Hogwarts brings Harry Potter to us. For now, make sure that Superman over there doesn't move._"

_"Yes, my master. Somnium."_ And for Vegeta, suddenly everything went dark.

**A/N**

**Greetings, lovely readers, and thanks for reading the eleventh chapter of Never Tickle A Sleeping Dragon!**

**While writing this chapter, I came across an amusing bug in Microsoft Word 2013 that turned all of the letters in the document into numbers for seemingly no reason at all. If this has happened to you, I'd like to hear about it, because it frustrated me greatly trying to fix it. I ended up deleting the document and starting anew, which means I had to re-write 80% of the chapter. As any fanfic writer knows, technical difficulties are one of the prerequisite rites of being an author, so I'll just chalk it up to life and move on.**

**This was a great chapter to write regardless, because it's the second time we really see some rock-em sock-em DBZ action in this fic so far. Now Cell will have to deal with three Mastered Super Saiyans and a Super Namekian coming at him all at once, a daunting challenge even for the self-proclaimed perfect being. We'll see how it plays out next chapter.**

**Unfortunately, Vegeta has been incapacitated by Peter Pettigrew of all people. Unfortunately, the Cruciatus Curse hurts just as much for Vegeta as it would Harry. I thought it would be some delicious irony for you readers who perhaps don't like the prince as much as I do. I wonder why Voldemort would want Vegeta kept alive? Any ideas~? Haha, see you all next chapter!**


	12. THE SERPENT AND THE SAIYAN

Harry Potter was left standing in the center of the maze, feeling rather disappointed in spite of himself. He repeatedly told himself that winning the tournament was not truly important; only surviving it. Yet somehow, he felt cheated that he was only inches away from grabbing the cup before Vegeta had shown up.

Perhaps it was the Z-Fighters' voracious appetite for competition that inspired this change in him; he could not be sure. Either way, there was little left to do but shoot up a beam of red sparks, for he did not desire to face any more of the horrors in the maze.

To his surprise, Professor Moody had shown up almost immediately after he had communicated his position. The Defense Against The Dark Arts teacher had apparated ten feet away from Harry.

When that spinning blue eye whirred to gaze upon him, Harry felt an inexplicable worm of fear race down his spine. He decided to keep his wand firmly in his hand.

"Professor Moody, Vegeta's grabbed the cup, but it seemed to be a Portkey. Was that supposed to happen?" Harry asked innocently. Moody's smile widened, a rickshaw of bad intentions.

"Oh I assure you, that was entirely the cup's purpose. The only snag was that you were supposed to grab it, Mr. Potter." Moody growled.

"Yeah, I almost had it! Still, at least it's over." Harry shrugged. "Not quite, Potter." Moody snarled, slowly advancing upon the bespectacled boy. Harry's instincts screamed, telling him to run, fight, or some impossible combination of the two. Something was not right here.

"_Expelliarmus!_" Harry yelled, a red jet of light shooting towards Moody. "_Proteg_o." Moody incanted tonelessly, a pearly shield of light deflecting Harry's disarming spell with contemptuous ease.

"Isn't it strange how simple strategy is when you only use one spell?" Moody said sarcastically. Harry's eyes widened in fear. "I use more than one spell! _Impedimenta!_"

The magic beam was yellow and crackling with electricity, but Moody stopped it with just as much ease as before. "_Petrificus Totalus_!" Moody shouted. Harry felt his entire body freeze up like a board, his arms and legs snapping together as he clanged onto the ground.

The boys tried to scream for help, but could not on account of the lockjaw brought on by the paralyzing curse. "Now then…" Moody sauntered up to Harry's prone form. He seemed to be becoming thinner, or perhaps Harry was only imagining it.

"The day of reckoning has finally come, Harry Potter." Moody roughly grabbed the Gryffindor boy's shoulder before apparating away.

"Albus, I don't mean to alarm you, but the entirety of the Astronomy Tower just got blown to KINGDOM COME!" Cornelius Fudge shouted vociferously, his jowls quivering magnificently.

Every single student had been evacuated to the Beauxbatons Academy of Magic, with only Dumbledore, Madame Maxime, Fudge, Krillin, and the Hogwarts teaching staff remaining.

"Well, it always needed to be renovated anyways." Dumbledore replied gently.

"Looks like things are starting to get intense." Krillin said grimly. "I'll be heading out to fight now. You all had best get out of here, because I can't promise you won't get hurt if you stay."

"Excuse me, Chinamen, but you and your friends are going to be in debt the rest of your lives for the Astronomy Tower alone, much less the other damages to the school!" Fudge said imperiously.

Krillin's eyes darkened. "I AM NOT. FROM. CHINA. I DO NOT EVEN KNOW WHAT CHINA IS. WHY DO PEOPLE KEEP CALLING ME CHINAMEN!?" He shouted at the top of his lungs.

No one had an answer for him.

"Ah, my mistake. You must be Korean, then?" Fudge responded calmly.

Krillin scowled before blasting off in a white flash of light. The teachers gazed after him, and it looked like Krillin was racing towards a series of yellow supernovae all exploding at once.

Goku, Piccolo, Trunks, and Gohan all rushed towards Cell at once from the four cardinal directions. Cell smirked, powering up to 80% of his estimated maximum strength.

The Z-Warriors flowed together seamlessly, their wildly disparate fighting styles somehow creating a combined assault far greater than the sum of its parts. Goku led the charge, going for a high elbow.

Cell brought his arm up to block, or at least he would've if he had a right arm to block with. "_Diffindo!_" Piccolo pointed his index finger to slice Cell's arm clean off with the magic spell. Of all the Z-Fighters, Piccolo was the only one that was truly adept in the ways of magic, and he planned to use it as a way of making up for his significantly lesser power level.

Goku thus landed the elbow to Cell's face while Trunks pounded Cell's gut with staccato punches. Each rearing back a separate fist, Goku and Trunks punched Cell downwards with dual Super Saiyan force.

Goku smiled. As a Saiyan, he usually didn't like to fight on a team if he could avoid it, preferring to hog all of the action to himself. Still, if he had to battle with assistance, he would have no other men by his side.

"Get him, son!" Goku called down to Gohan, who was charging a yellow energy blast on the ground. "Masenko-ha!" He released the beam towards the falling Cell, who avoided it at the last second.

Cell re-growed his arm, clear bodily fluids covering the mottled skin of the new appendage. Trunks did not let Cell breathe, bearing down on him with harried force.

"Silly boy," Cell snarled, catching Trunks' incoming punch before countering with his own, "don't you ever learn?"

"Leave him alone!" Goku called, kicking Cell in the small of the neck while Piccolo swept his legs.

Cell growled before releasing a deep purple explosive wave, sending all three warriors reeling back.

Meanwhile, Moody had apparated himself and Harry to the graveyard of Little Hangleton. Harry was dropped to the ground with a thud, his head spinning. The boy thought his mind was playing tricks on him at first, because it seemed as though Moody was undergoing some sort of ghastly transformation.

The man's clothes seemed to be growing baggier, or perhaps it was his frame that was shrinking. The scars faded away, leaving a healthy, even boyish face. The peg leg popped out as a real limb grew in its place. The long mane of brown hair lightened and receded into the man's scalp. The magical blue eye popped out, a beady brown one replacing it.

Barty Crouch Jr. bowed to the baby Pettigrew was carrying. "I have delivered Potter for you, my master." The impostor said shakily, his eyes darting about the hard ground.

_"You have done well, my servant at Hogwarts."_ The baby hissed. Harry couldn't move his eyes to see, but he heard someone groaning beside him. "_That can't be Vegeta, can it?" _The boy thought fearfully.

_"Yes, it is true, Harry Potter. All of your worst nightmares have now come true." _The baby echoed, reading Harry's mind with Legilimency. _"My servant, disguising himself as Mad-Eye Moody, has played you right into my hand. Everything that has transpired in this tournament has done so according to my design. _

_Everything, that is, except for our good friend Vegeta over there. A wrench thrown into my plans, he and his little friends were. So unimaginably powerful. They are the reason why I have had to be covert in my movements this year. To find that the arrogant princeling is just as vulnerable to the Cruciatus as any other man is a relief beyond measure."_ The baby boasted.

_"The Toriyama Academy that these fools hail from only existed as of last year, and yet the oh so wise Dumbledore did not even conduct a background check. It is almost as if the universe itself is trying to remold to accomadate their existences!"_

"My lord, if I may inquire, why have you not killed this strange man yet? I do not think that we can afford him to wake." Crouch asked quietly. "He will be needed for the ritual. Wormtail, it is time." The baby screeched.

"Master, adding any blood besides Potter's could alter the resurrection irreparably!" Wormtail protested feebly. _"DO IT NOW!"_ The baby shouted, setting Wormtail and Crouch's teeth on edge.

Wormtail nodded jerkily before getting to work preparing a cauldron. In a few minutes, the pot was flaming underneath, with a bubbling purple liquid spitting inside of it. From there, Crouch dumped the deformed baby into the cauldron.

"_Bone of the father, unknowingly given, you will resurrect your son!_" Wormtail's voice shook uncontrollably during the incantation, and it was clear that he was frightened out of his wits. By contrast, mad glee was readily apparent in Barty Crouch's expression.

From a nearby grave, a withered, dusty armbone lifted from the dirt. Using Wingardium Leviosa, Pettigrew uncertainly dropped the bone into the fizzing cauldron, casuing it to hiss menacingly. The potion became a toxic blue color.

Barty Crouch stepped forward, drawing a shining silver knife from his trenchcoat. "_Flesh of the servant, willingly given, you will revive your master!_" He exclaimed with revolting fervor before slicing his left hand clean off with the knife, not even flinching as he performed the act. He hissed in pain, biting down on his tongue hard enough to draw blood.

Harry could not have closed his eyes, since he was under the Petrificus Totalus. The image of the limp hand falling to the ground was burned irrevocably into his retina. Vegeta groaned besides Harry; the boy desperately hoped that the Saiyan would wake soon. Wormtail was disgusted, but tossed the hand into the potion anyways, causing it to burn a shining vermillion hue.

"And now…" Crouch grimaced, "do the honors, would you, Wormtail?"

Pettigrew had no option but to comply, and shuffled over to Harry and Vegeta. First, he took the knife and cut off a few locks of Vegeta's coarse black hair, as the Saiyan's skin was far too tough to be cut with an ordinary knife. Wormtail then sprinkled the hair into the potion, causing it to glow a vibrant yellow.

"_Blood of the enemy…forcibly taken…you will resurrect your foe!"_

He then sliced Harry's arm with the silver knife, staining the blade a fresh red. Harry hissed in pain, but could do nothing as Wormtail slowly dripped the blood into the brew, and white sparkles erupted from its base.

Vegeta began to come to, rage beginning to overcome his tiredness. He slowly stood, the normally benign task taking all of his strength and willpower to accomplish now. "Impossible…another Saiyan?" He muttered to himself, gazing upon the steaming cauldron.

_"Please let it be dead….let it have failed!" _Harry thought frantically.

But Harry's weak hopes were ruthlessly squashed with an icy thrill of terror when he saw the dark outline of a muscular man through the mist, rising slowly.

"Robe me." Said the high, cold voice from behind the fog. Barty Crouch brought forth a black, floaty cloak to dress his master with. The smoke eventually cleared, and from it stepped forth a powerfully built man, his lean, sinewy muscles contrasting sharply with his pale, snakelike face.

Lord Voldemort had risen again.

Meanwhile, Krillin had run on foot towards the site where the Z-Fighters were battling valiantly against the terrible Cell. He moved quietly, wanting to take Cell by surprise. He knew he would have only one shot at what he wanted to do.

Above the monk, the Z-Warriors assaulted the bio-android with dogged determination. Currently, Gohan was trading blows with Cell while they both flew erratically about, flying through the battlements of Hogwarts.

Gohan was on the offensive, using his lithe physique to avoid Cell's blows while delivering quick, snappy punches and kicks of his own.

They were zipping through one of the castle's corridors when Cell landed a nasty knee to the boy's face, sending him flying through one of the suits of armor decorating the castle's hallways.

Like a green Kool-Aid Man, Piccolo then burst through the wall, kicking Cell through an expensive stained-glass window. Cell, instead of immediately responding to his assailant, turned around and punched Trunks, who was lying in wait and preparing to attack him from behind.

Cell then fired a yellow energy blast at Piccolo, burning the Nameian's arms and sending him reeling backwards.

Goku aimed a diagonal kick from behind at Cell's neck, only for the monstrosity to catch it without even looking. The Super Saiyan grimaced before aiming his other leg at Cell's head. Predictably, Cell clasped the Saiyan's boot in his other hand with contemptuous ease.

"Oh, shoot! Hey, uh…wanna let me go?" Goku chanced. "No." Cell responded. "Worth a try." Goku laughed dourly.

Cell then brought both of the Saiyan's legs over his head and began rapidly accelerating towards the cold, hard ground. In an instant, Goku was slammed against the dirt. The Saiyan groaned weakly, a splitting headache coming on.

Cell reared his clawed hand backwards, a purple dot of energy charging on his index finger. "Die!" the android growled.

"Incendio!" Piccolo casted, and Cell's arm was engulfed in hot green flames.

"AUUGH!" Cell howled in pain, and ripped his own arm off to prevent the fire from spreading. With another yell of exertion, he regrew the limb back with his high-speed regeneration, looking none the worse for wear for it.

Piccolo, Trunks, and Gohan landed next to the exhausted Goku, each of them wearing expressions of pure determination.

"Man, it seems like his regeneration has gotten even more efficient than before!" Trunks bemoaned. "Keep your chin up, Trunks. This guy is stronger than anyone I've ever faced, but there's still a way we can beat him!"

"So Goku, do you write these inspirational speeches down prior to fighting, or what?" Cell asked snarkily.

_"Man, he never runs out of things to say, does he?"_ Krillin telepathically communicated with the other Z-Fighters.

_"Hey, what are you doing here? This is too dangerous for you!" _Goku reprimanded.

_"I appreciate your concern, Goku, but I'm a warrior, not a spectator, and I have a plan to help you. I'm going to catch Cell off-guard with my Instant Transmission, then you all can charge up your strongest attacks and blast him!"_ Krillin said excitedly.

_"Hey, that's kinda what I had planned! I guess great minds think alike!"_ Goku smiled.

_"Go, do it now!"_ Piccolo urged. _"We're counting on you, Krillin!"_ Trunks bolstered.

Krillin emerged from behind the treeline and placed two fingers to his dotted forehead. In a mere moment, the monk appeared in front of Perfect Cell.

"Excuse me?" Cell, for once, was completely and utterly bamboozled.

"SOLAR FLARE!" Krillin created a blinding flash of light, burning Cell's retinas with its intensity.

"OH NO! DR. GERO TAKING A SPONGE BATH!" Cell yelled as the vision assaulted him. "MY EYES! I CANNOT SEE AFTER LOOKING AT THAT!"

The other Z-Fighter began laboriously charging their strongest beams. Goku and Gohan took the iconic stance of the Kamehameha, while Trunks cooked a Finish Buster above his head. Purple and yellow energy swirled around Piccolo's fingers as he charged his Makankosappo.

Krillin was fleeing unabashedly, running with a goofy smirk on his face.

Cell was quickly regaining his vision, and he began zooming after Krillin. "Shoot! We weren't quick enough!" Piccolo teleported in front of Cell, his energy violent and unrestrained.

The Namekian pointed his index and middle fingers at Cell, spiral energy coalescing. "Bang." With that, Piccolo fired the Makankosappo point-blank at Cell, blowing the bio-android's head clean off. The swirling energy cannon trailed off into space, leaving a yellow and purple after-trail behind it.

Piccolo slowly lowered himself, thoroughly spent. Cell's decapitated exoskeleton fell as well, collapsing on the ground much more quickly.

"**KA….ME…**." Goku shouted. "**HA….ME…**." Gohan yelled. "**FINISH…**." Trunks roared.

Piccolo kicked Cell's body into the air, the headless body limply rising from only the sheer force of the Namekian's blow. "There, now the planet won't be damaged! Go, now!" Piccolo yelled.

"**HA!**" Goku and Gohan fired their sapphire beams of pure energy at the same time, their two Super Kamehameha converging to form one mega-beam.

**"BUSTER!"** Trunks roared, his golden yellow supernova racing towards Cell at untraceable speeds. The three Saiyan's combined assault obliterated Cell's exoskeleton completely, the blasts racing several hundred light-years into space before finally dissipating.

It was easily the most powerful attack any of them had ever produced, and they were sure that their combined force was enough to destroy Cell completely.

The three of them were wheezing heavily, but all three Saiyans remained in their Super forms regardless, remaining on high alert just in case Cell wasn't truly gone.

Gohan placed his hands on his knees. "Wow, we did it!"

Goku gave his son a thumbs-up. "Yeah, looks like the Triple Transmission Combo was a success! Nice job, guys!" Krillin and Piccolo slowly flew over to the three Saiyans.

"Scan the area, to make sure there's nothing left of him-" Piccolo opened his mouth to speak, but found that he couldn't, on account of a hand impaling him from the back.

"NO!" Trunks roared. Cell had fully regenerated, and had used super speed to pierce the Namekian's flesh with a ki-infused hand.

Piccolo slowly turned around to face his enemy, hissing in pain.

"I must say, that was a rather impressive trick from the five of you. I did not expect that Krillin and Piccolo had learned Instant Transmission. I take it you taught them, Goku?" Cell asked conversationally.

"Get away from him!" was all that Goku responded with as he blasted off towards Cell, Trunks and Gohan flanking him. The bio-android smirked, using the hand that was not currently impaling Piccolo to blast away the three Saiyans with a loaded _kiai_. They flew haplessly into the air for ten seconds before managing to right themselves.

Krillin could only watch; he knew that he was way out of his depth on this battlefield, but he could not truly appreciate just he how weak he was compared to Cell until he stood in front of the roach.

Cell withdrew his hand, purple Namekian blood staining his palm. With one swift motion, he jumped in the air and snapped Piccolo's neck with a kick, the cracking sound shocking even the seasoned Z-Fighters with its gruesomeness.

Piccolo crumpled on the ground, his eyes white and pupil-less with shock. Gohan roared in anger and distress, his golden aura growing increasingly volatile. "Gohan, calm down! Piccolo can regenerate from that, he'll be fine! We need to focus on beating Cell!" Goku commanded.

"Now then…" Cell kicked the Namekian's body into the arms of Krillin, who dumbly caught him. "I think I'll kill you both with one fell swoop. Humans and Namekians no longer interest me." A yellow energy blast charged on the end of Cell's palm, aimed at Krillin and Piccolo.

Goku raised his index and middle fingers to his own forehead once more. He instantly teleported in front of Cell, grabbing the villain's arm and dispelling his energy beam.

"There's no way I'm gonna let you hurt my friends!" Grappling Cell's arm, Goku swing him around and around, completing a dozen rotations before flinging Cell away.

Gohan intercepted the android's skyward path, assaulting him with a furious barrage of blows. Cell was caught off-guard by the boy's ferocity, allowing Gohan to land a few good hits before Cell began blocking and parrying him.

Krillin grabbed Piccolo and flew away from the battle zone, hoping to find a wizard that may be able to help the Namekian heal. "C'mon big guy…" Krillin grunted, hoisting his larger friend over his shoulder before taking off.

"Wow, Gohan's gone berserk!" Trunks said, his amazement momentarily keeping him from the battle. "I know." Goku said, flying up next to him. "And I think that he's our best chance of winning this fight."

"Really? Gohan? He's a kid! A really strong kid, but still!" Trunks protested. "I saw what he was capable of when we trained in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber. When he gets mad, Gohan becomes much more powerful than any of us! Krillin told me it was the same way on Namek; when he got enraged, Gohan was able to go toe-to-toe with Frieza! How many five-year old children can say that?" Goku claimed.

"Perhaps. But still, I won't just sit back and leave Gohan to the wolves! We can still beat Cell, can't we?" Trunks said, impassioned.

To this, Goku chuckled grimly. "I wish. I thought for sure we could take him, but he's only been toying with us the whole time. Without Piccolo, we're that much worse off."

"I never thought you'd give up like this, Goku." Trunks said bitterly. "I'm not giving up, but I need you place your faith in Gohan. We need to help him as best we can." Goku responded calmly. The two companions briefly nodded at each other before flying into the battle once more.

Meanwhile, it had begun raining at the graveyard, a small sprinkle that fell from the dark clouds. Voldemort's expression as rapt, exultant as he examined his new body.

Harry expected him to be thin and serpentine in stature, but it seemed that the addition of Vegeta's DNA altered the ritual more than expected. Voldemort was not slender at all, having broad shoulders and clearly defined muscles even beneath his shadowy robe. The sight disgusted both Harry and Vegeta.

The Dark Lord's eyes, once a bloody scarlet, were now an electric blue, and this combined with the sickly pale yellow aura he was exuding made him look like a deathly mockery of a Super Saiyan.

Vegeta snarled at the insult. "So, yet another pathetic fool decides to take my genes! How lowly must you be to take my power and use it as your own!" Despite being in immense pain, Vegeta still managed out a sharp-witted comment.

Harry, meanwhile, was wincing in pain, his lightning-bolt scar seemingly on fire after laying eyes on this malformed Dark Wizard.

Voldemort's teal eyes glowed through the darkness as he slowly turned to lay his slitted pupils upon the Saiyan Prince. The Dark Wizard slowly drew a wand made of bone from his robe pocket, caressing it in his long fingers.

Vegeta frantically attempted to gauge the new enemy's power, and when he finally sensed the warped and distorted ki that emanated from Voldemort, he breathed a sigh of relief.

The dark wizard was not strong, not at all. Even Krillin would be able to handle him with ease. If he had access to his full power, Vegeta could have wiped away this man with nary a thought. But after being besieged with more than twenty Cruciatus Curses, Vegeta had trouble even standing.

"My lord…you have returned at last…" Crouch said, gladly kneeling in front of his master, paying no mind to his bloody stump of an arm. A second after, Wormtail also bowed, although his expression was primarily one of fear.

Voldemort began to gaze upon Barty Crouch, and was about to say something when Vegeta interrupted him. "Hey, who the hell are you?! You better answer me right now, and if I don't like it, you're going straight to hell!" The Saiyan growled.

Voldemort coldly regarded the fuming Saiyan. "Do not be so ill-tempered, my friend. After all, you have helped me reclaim my body, and now, Lord Voldemort has risen more powerful than ever before. The fact that you are even still alive after taking twenty Cruciatus Curses speaks to your fortitude." He said, chuckling. "Lord Voldemort rewards his helpers. I offer you a spot in the rankings of the Death Eaters, and I hope you will be wise enough to accept it."

This only angered Vegeta more. "I am a proud Saiyan, and I do not appreciate my heritage being spat upon! I will strike you down here and now, fool!" A weak bleu aura sputtered to life, but Vegeta's will blazed far stronger_. "And then, when I am finished with you, I will have my vengeance on Cell!"_

"A pity." Was all Voldemort said as he slowly raised his wand. "My lord, I shall dispose of this slime for you!" Barty Crouch was clearly far too excited over his master's return for his own good. It is the only explanation for why a one-armed man would run up on Vegeta, of all people.

Despite his weakened state, it was no challenge for Vegeta to catch the knife that Crouch had thrown at him. In a swift movement, the Saiyan drove his foot through the man's solar plexus and out through his back, instantly killing him.

Voldemort did not seem fazed at this development, and Vegeta's cold, placid expression said far more than any words could.

Vegeta and Voldemort began to circle each other like wolves, both of their expressions feral and combative. "Wormtail, make sure that Harry Potter does not move. This should be a simple task, considering he is paralyzed." Voldemort snarked before taking aim at Vegeta.

"_Avada Kedavra_!" A green jet of light burst from the wand, but Vegeta had more than enough sense to dodge it. He knew that if he got hit by that spell once, it would be game over for him.

Although his muscles burned intensly, Vegeta jumped into the air, and with a painful grunt, he kicked Voldemort in the face. He fully expected this move to kill, but to his surprise, Voldemort only flew backwards a few feet, breaking a gravestone in his path.

"_It must be the Saiyan DNA that made him this durable…"_ Vegeta thought frantically, his vision swimming. _"I need to finish this fast!"_

"Good thing you don't have a nose, freak, or else it would be broken right now, freak." Vegeta mocked, giving chase. Voldemort flew into the air, a formless black shadow tinged with yellow.

The Dark Wizard fired off a barrage of Avada Kedavra, Vegeta bobbing and weaving through the green firestorm. Although he could not become a Super Saiyan due to his depleted energy reserves, Vegeta was still quick enough to outclass Voldemort.

Once he closed in, he aimed a double axe-handle at the bald wizard, knocking him back down to Earth with a crack. Voldemort skid on the ground, but his new body proved able to withstand Vegeta's assault.

"Master!" Pettigrew shouted in fear. What the cowardly traitor had not realized was that with the death of Barty Crouch Jr., the Petrificus Totalus placed on Harry was lifted, and the Boy Who Lived was quite free to move.

Harry slowly rose, drawing his wand from his pants pocket. Luckily for the Gryffindor Boy, Wormtail was far too focused on the fight between Vegeta and Voldemort to pay any heed to him.

Harry's green eyes narrowed before he pointed his phoenix-core wand at the man who had helped make him an orphan so many years ago. Harry wanted so badly to use the Killing Curse on him, to give him the same fate his parents had suffered, but he knew that if he used the Unforgivable Curse once, it would become easier and easier for him to use it again. No, he was better than his enemies, and this time, the true betrayer of his parents would be brought to justice.

"Stupefy!" Harry roared, a red ball of energy slamming into Wormtail's back. The mousy Death Eater was propelled forward, his feet leaving the ground momentarily before his head slammed against the headstone of Tom Riddle Sr. Wormtail was decisively knocked unconscious.

Harry had no time to revel in his victory though, for a green swish caught the corner of his vision. Without hesitation, Harry flew skyward, narrowly avoiding a strike from Voldemort's snake, Nagini, that would have surely killed him.

His heart beat rapidly, Harry floated in midair for a second, as the snake could not reach him where he was. The reptile bayed and snapped at him, but Harry knew how to dispatch the serpent.

"Diffindo!" Harry incanted, able to think with a clear head and use the cutting spell. The snake was cleanly decapitated, but strangely, it dissolved into a writhing mass of black shadows. Harry assumed the snake had some sort of enchantment applied to it that caused such a reaction.

As soon as Nagini died, Voldemort reacted violently, clutching his heart in pain. Vegeta hardly noticed this, as he was too busy driving his knee into the Dark Lord's back.

"Not even a challenge!" Vegeta snarled, kicking the wizard away. "Damn it! Cruc-" Voldemort began. "NO!" Vegeta flashed away, landing another punch to the wizard-Saiyan hybrid.

"I will not fall victim to your pathetic tricks again! Fight like a man!" Vegeta roared. _"He is too powerful, even with my new body…there is only one chance for victory!"_ Voldemort turned his wand to Harry.

A swath of flame emerged from the yew wand, far too quickly for Harry to react. "Get down, kid!" Vegeta tackled Harry out of the air a moment before the Fiendfyre would have swallowed him whole.

"What the bloody hell is that?!" Harry yelled, his composure shaken immensely. For once, Vegeta was at a loss of words.

Voldemort had conjured a winged snake made of animated orange flame. It was enormous, easily wide enough to curl around one of the towers of Hogwarts. The rain steamed around it, causing the demonic flame to hiss. "That's insane!" Harry cried.

"C'mon kid, can't you put that thing out?" Vegeta shouted as they landed on the slippery grass.

Harry focused, his green eyes intense with concentration. He held his wand two-handed, pointing it at the Fiendfyre. "_Aquamenti!_" The boy hollered. A stream of water flowed from Harry's wand and hit the Fiendfyre.

It had no effect on the demon fire whatsoever, aside from perhaps irritating it slightly.

"_Avada Kedavra!"_ Voldemort cried from behind them. Harry and Vegeta jumped upwards, flying again to avoid the spell.

Harry and Voldemort gazed at each other, meaning exchanged between the two mortal enemies in this one moment. "**_Expelliarmus!_**" "**_Avada Kedavra!_**" they shouted at the same time.

A red beam of light shot forth from Harry's wand while an emerald green blast mirrored his. The spells clashed, causing a massive opaline shockwave to emanate from the point where the lights collided.

Even Vegeta paused at the warlike beauty of the struggle. The Prince was suddenly reminded of his first battle with Goku, where his Galick Gun had clashed similarly with the pure-hearted Saiyan's Kamehameha. However, his amazement was soon cut short by the roaring of the fire snake above him.

"Oh, so you want to play a little, then? Then TAKE THIS!" Vegeta's muscles were on fire, his temples throbbing in pain, and he pushed on further still. Roaring, Vegeta thrust his hands in front of him, blue energy coalescing in front of him.

The Saiyan concentrated more intensely than he ever had in his entire life, and although he was at his weakest point physically, his soul burned with a fire far hotter than anything Voldemort could ever conjure.

Sheets upon sheets of energy built in front of Vegeta, pushing against the Fiendfyre snake. An azure disc of energy moved the Fiendfyre snake, shoving further and further skywards. Vegeta completely lost himself in the moment, not even noticing that the heat of his attack had blown the top of his Slytherin robe clean off. "MY NAME IS VEGETA, AND MY SAIYAN HEART WILL NOT REST UNTIL EVERY ENEMY IN ITS PATH HAS BEEN DEFEATED!"

With a final push, the Fiendfyre Snake was propelled to the edge of space, where, without any oxygen molecules, the fire was snuffed out unceremoniously. Vegeta, exhausted, took a moment to take a deep breath before turning back to Harry and Voldemort's battle.

A burst of golden energy erupted in their middle of their clash, and a silvery dome webbed its way around the two wizards. Two enemies bonded by fate struggled mightily.

However, it was clear that Voldemort was beginning to overpower Harry. Although the 14-year old boy held his ground with the heart of a lion, the wizard-Saiyan hybrid was simply too strong for him.

Suddenly, a beautiful and unearthly sound filled Harry's ears. Even though he had not heard the sound in two years, it was unmistakably the song of the phoenix that now called out to him.

It buoyed his bones with hope and courage, a truly indescribable strength. _"Don't break the connection."_ A voice that Harry could not place the origin of told him. _"I won't."_ He told it back, but even as he said so, the thing became that much harder to keep.

His wand became hot with the constant output of energy, and Harry focused every fiber of his being on holding on to his wand. Now, the stream was slowly pushed back, and it was Voldemort who now looked afraid, even with his newfound power.

Silvery puffs of smoke burst from the Dark Wizard's wand, the first taking the shape of Barty Crouch's hand. Then, the shapes of people began to circle around the grey dome the two wizards had created with their struggle.

Then Harry realized that they were ghosts- the spirits of Voldemort's victims, those who had been slain by his wand. They all said their words of encouragement towards him, bolstering his resolve. It was an eerie feeling.

Vegeta's eyes were as wide as dinner plates. Even in his many years of experience, he had never seen anything like this. The sight mesmerized him, and he watched the struggle, rapt.

Then, the shadowy forms of James and Lily Potter rose from Voldemort's wand. They floated, ethereal, over to their son, who could not contain his tears upon seeing the forms of his dead family.

When you break the connection, get back to the portkey. We can hold off for a moment, but only a moment, do you understand?!" James said urgently to his only son. Vegeta shook his head. "You can't do it yourself, you idiot!" Struggling, Vegeta waded his way into the magic dome, standing next to Harry. Searching deep within himself, he managed to find the energy for one last energy blast.

"Who are you?" Lily asked, completely taken aback. "I am Vegeta, Prince of All Saiyans!" Vegeta responded cheekily. "We have no idea what that means." The ghost of Bertha Jorkins snarked.

"Oh you will, trust me. Now then, we're not going to settle for a draw! We can defeat him here and now!" Vegeta placed a hand on Harry's shoulder. "We shall combine our energy, and end this with a big bang!"

Harry could only frantically nod as he tried with all of his might to maintain his hold on the connection between him and Voldemort.

"You cannot kill me, not truly! I am the true Immortal, and death is but a roadblock to me!" Voldemort shouted madly, cackling all the while.

"Oh, shut up! **Expelliarmus!**" Harry shouted. **"Big Bang Attack!"** Vegeta cried.

Red and blue energy intertwined, and a beam of brilliant purple power easily overcame the green jet of Voldemort.

"HAAH!" Harry and Vegeta shouted simultaneously, cheered on by the ghosts. Voldemort pushed all of his new Saiyan power into protecting himself, gnashing his teeth.

**_"No….I AM PERFECT!" _**

Voldemort's body and wand were obliterated completely by the blast, a faint wisp of energy resembling a green skull all that remained of the once-terrible Dark Lord.

When Voldemort's wand was destroyed, the ghosts immediately disappeared, unable to remain in the physical realm for even a second longer. Harry saw only a fleeting glimpse of his parents before they faded from existence, leaving him forever.

Harry and Vegeta collapsed on the ground, their breathing heavy and hitched. The rain continued to fall on them, nature uncaring even about such a cataclysmic struggle. They each gazed at the dark sky, delirious thoughts reeling through their minds.

"Ugh…I can't believe I had such trouble against such a weakling!" Vegeta groaned in embarrassment as well as pain.

Harry wanted to laugh, but wheezed laboriously instead. "Are you serious? Voldemort is considered the greatest Dark Wizard of our time. And we destroyed him." Harry wanted to be triumphant, but something held him back. A part of him somehow knew that Voldemort wasn't truly gone.

"Oh please, that was the greatest you have to offer?" Vegeta mocked. He laughed, coughing up blood as he did so.

"Hey, not to be a bother, but I'm pretty sure you're going to die. No one has ever taken twenty Cruciatus before and survived, much less fought on afterwards." Harry said grimly.

"Oh, I'll be fine, you big pansy. Now then, can you fly?" Vegeta said, sitting up. "Unfortunately, there are bigger fish to fry at Hogwarts." _"Once I am healed, I will kill Cell with my own two hands. I can only hope that those fools can hold him off until then…."_ The prince thought furiously.

"No need. We can grab the cup again to go back to Hogwarts. Voldemort probably set it as a portkey to lure me into a trap. It's a damn good thing you grabbed it first." Harry said, standing shakily. Vegeta glanced at the boy for a moment. For a 14-year old boy, he was a remarkably mature and aware young man. Against his will, Vegeta felt a begrudging respect take hold.

"Make sure to kill fatty over there before we leave." Vegeta snapped, pointing at Wormtail, who was still out cold from Harry's stunner spell.

"I'm not going to kill him. He deserves to rot in Azkaban for the rest of his days for what he's done. Death is too good for him." Harry said darkly.

Vegeta chuckled dourly. "You may carry him then." He sneered. Harry picked up his wand, which was still hot from the clash with Voldemort, and levitated Wormtail over to where they were.

He placed a hand on Vegeta's shoulder while nudging the prone frame of Pettigrew with his dirty boot. _"Accio."_ Harry exhaled the incantation tiredly; it had been a very long day. The cup flew towards them, and Harry grabbed the silver handle.

The wizard, the traitor and the Saiyan were whisked back to Hogwarts, leaving only a cold and desolate memory behind them.

**A/N**

**Greetings, lovely readers, and thanks for reading the twelfth chapter of Never Tickle A Sleeping Dragon!**

**To address the elephant in the room, I'm sure many of you are wondering about why Vegeta seems so weak compared to his previous portrayal in the fic. After being caught off-guard by Pettigrew in the last chapter, Vegeta was subjected to more Crucio's than a normal human could possibly take, and thus he was crippled immensely in this chapter, to the point where he could barely stand. Still, he was able to handle the Saiyan hybrid Voldemort with ease in single combat, showing just how much inner strength the prince has.**

**Of course, Voldemort is not gone forever, as he still has plenty of horcruxes that ensure his continued existence. However, with Pettigrew in custody and Barty Crouch dead, Voldemort may never regain a servant to prepare the body ritual for him. Thus, he would be condemned to existing as neither alive nor dead, which may well be a fate worse than death.**

**Thank you again for sharing your thoughts and feelings on the story, and I'll see you next chapter.**


	13. GAZE INTO THE SUN

Dumbledore, Fudge, and the teachers were preparing to leave the grounds, Dumbledore lowering the anti-apparation jinxes for a brief period. Karkaroff apparated away as soon as the enchantments were dropped, a fact that surprised little.

"Professor, we should leave now. Moody will be able to find his own way out." Snape said grumpily, crossing his arms.

Dumbledore frowned. "Severus, I cannot leave a member of my staff behind in good conscience. I'm sure Professor Moody will be joining us at any moment from now."

"But Albus, it may not be safe here for much longer." McGonagall leaned in and said this quietly.

"I have complete faith in Mr. Goku and his companions. I have seen into his mind, and he is pure of mind, as well as strong in body. He will not let any harm come to us." Dumbledore said, ignoring that it was Goku himself who told them all to leave when Cell had first arrived.

Suddenly, a blue flash of light beamed behind the adult wizards. All of them, with the obvious exception of Hagrid, turned and pointed their wands at the unexpected noise.

Harry and Vegeta tumbled onto the ground ungainfully, Vegeta landing painfully on his bottom while Harry rolled into an impromptu somersault. The Triwizard cup rolled to Fudge's feet. Pettigrew was prone behind Harry, and the adults did not immediately see the traitor.

"By Jove, what has happened to you two? You look like you've been used as toothpicks for a Cerberus!" The Minister exclaimed.

"Well, it was because of your stupid tournament!" Vegeta snarled, painfully standing up. "I grabbed the cup only for it to teleport me to some creepy graveyard. Then I had to fight some snake-looking freak!"

Everyone in the vicinity paused, a pregnant silence lasting nearly 30 seconds following this declaration. "A snake-looking freak?" Snape blinked, repeating it slowly.

Dumbledore's glasses fell off, the rims shattering against the grass. A quick _reparo_ fixed them, but the effect was still the same. "Did you happen to catch the name of this snake-looking freak?" The elder mage asked incredulously.

"Professor Dumbledore, it was Voldemort! He returned, with the help of our good friend Peter." Harry's tone switched from hurried to sarcastic within moments, surprising even the more cynical teachers.

"Impossible!" Flitwick exclaimed. "I agree with Filius! The boy must have suffered a concussion, or something!" Fudge shouted, jowls quivering.

"Hmph, it hardly matters either way. This "Voldemort" creature managed to get the drop on me, and yet he was still only revived for about ten minute before he once again was acquainted with death's cold embrace." Vegeta boasted, even though he was coughing profusely.

"You mean to say that you…killed You-Know-Who?" Sprout asked, eyes wide.

Vegeta nodded. "Believe it or not, the boy was an instrumental player. He managed to trade blows with this so-called dark lord, and when we combined our magical energy, Voldemort was completely vaporized."

The staff was blown away at this news, and nearly 30 more seconds of stunned silence followed this before the teachers began cheering in celebration of their greatest foe's premature defeat. Even Snape smiled, a sight that Harry found extremely unsettling.

"My goodness….this is excellent news! You two are national heroes for this!" Hagrid had captured Harry in a crushing bear hug, and the already weakened boy could barely breathe in the giant's embrace.

"Now wait just a minute! I want proof! I refuse to believe this tripe without some sort of explanation!" Fudge yelled.

"I'm sure fatass here can answer all of your burning questions." Vegeta said cockily, punting Pettigrew near Fudge's feet. "Now then, I need to be healed immediately. I sustained heavy damage in that battle, and I cannot expect to combat Cell in my current state."

Out of all of the teachers, Dumbledore was the only one with knowledge of what Vegeta was talking about, so he nodded. "Indeed. Mr. Goku and the rest of your companions have gone out to fight that creature. Unfortunately, Madam Pomfrey is with the rest of the students at Beauxbatons Academy." The headmaster said.

Vegeta cursed. "I don't care! I need my wounds healed immediately!"

"Well, I believe Severus used to be a healer, in his youth. Perhaps he could patch you up." Dumbledore suggested, smiling cheekily at Snape.

"Really, headmaster, my magic reserves are quite drained-" Snape began. "Severus." Dumbledore cut him off coolly.

Snape gave a withering glare at both Dumbledore and Vegeta before drawing his wand. He pointed it at the Saiyan prince with no small amount of exasperation. Tracing his wand over Vegeta's limber frame, Snape intoned foreign spells of Latin and Japanese origin.

Some of Vegeta's pain was alleviated, but not all of it, a heavy weight upon his chest and feet. Bed rest would be needed before he would truly be at his maximum again, but there was no time.

"I must get my revenge on Cell! I cannot allow his injustices against the Saiyan race to go unpunished!" The prince roared.

"Um, that's great, but before you go, take this. It will help replenish your energy." Snape said dully, raising a small vial filled with clear potion.

Vegeta leered at the glass, his lips curling downwards. "Is that like that Viagra stuff Bulma always wants me to take?"

"I highly doubt it. This is a Pepper-Up Potion. It cures the common cold when administered to a sick patient, but when given to a healthy one, it induces a rush of restlessness that you might find useful." Snape sneered.

Saying nothing further, Vegeta snatched the bottle from Snape's hands and downed the entire potion in one gulp. Suddenly, the Saiyan felt his face get very hot, steam billowing from his hairs.

"Excellent! Kakarrot! Don't you dare die on me!" Vegeta shouted, flying off towards the scene of the battle.

"Mr. Goku and Mr. Vegeta really do make an adorable couple, don't they?" Dumbledore said wistfully, looking at the receding form of Vegeta.

"Headmaster, I am certain that you are willfully misinterpreting their relationship."

"Oh, don't be such a square, Severus." Dumbledore admonished.

"Um, Professor Dumbledore…what's happening?" Harry asked, utterly bewildered.

"It's a long story, kid." Krillin's voice said from afar. The monk dropped down in front of them, carrying the unconscious Piccolo on his shoulders.

Krillin immediately handed the Namekian over to Snape. "He needs medical attention, now. One of you need to apparate to Madam Pomfrey and have her take care of him. He's sustained heavy damage." Krillin said calmly, yet urgently.

The monk scanned the group, accidentally meeting Dumbledore's eyes in the process. _"He'll survive due to his species' regeneration factor, won't he?"_ Dumbledore communicated telepathically.

_"I forgot that Goku let the cat out of the bag earlier. Yeah, he'll be able to survive, but he needs to be stabilized, and quick. You know, I'm surprised that you're taking this so well. I figured you'd be freaking out now that you know everything about us."_ Krillin responded blandly.

_"When one has lived for as long as I, one tends to take such matters in stride."_ Dumbledore said calmly.

"I'll handle Mr. Piccolo. He is one of my Ravens, after all." Flitwick stepped up, using a levitation charm to carry Piccolo's limp frame. "The anti-apparation jinxes have been dropped, haven't they?" he asked briefly.

"Yes, they have, now go!" McGonagall shooed him off, and soon Flitwick had teleported from the grounds with Piccolo in tow.

"Did you all see that? That man had green skin! What on earth has been going on at this school!?" Fudge shouted, apoplectic.

"Cornelius, I must ask you once again to calm yourself. Now that the area has been immediately secured, a report to the ministry is in order. Cornelius, I implore you, do not let word of this out. The consequences would be far too large to contain." Dumbledore said with urgent calm. His tone was so harried that it gave even the self-absorbed Fudge pause.

The incompetent minister nodded slowly before pointing to a wooden plank on the ground. "_Portus._" He chanted, a blue glow washing over the board. Before he could grab the portkey, though, McGonagall grabbed his portly shoulder.

"Give us your word. I do not trust politicians." She snapped.

"Now professor, I assure you that I serve the people-" Fudge began.

"Don't bother, Minerva. If this leaks to the public, we'll know. And if it does, then we'll know where it came from." Snape sneered, the threat implicit in his tone. He addressed McGonagall exclusively, paying no mind to the now-trembling minister.

Fudge turned to look at Dumbledore pleadingly, but the headmaster's expression was clouded, almost harsh. "I-I understand." The minister nodded repeatedly before whisking himself away in the portkey.

Dumbledre gazed at the spot where Fudge had teleported from for a moment before turning to the teachers, Krillin, and Harry. "I suggest that we all leave quickly. The wards will not protect us against the battle that is occurring right now."

Sprout moved to speak, but Dumbledore disregarded her. "-I know it will be difficult to leave this school in its damaged state, but I assure you, we will rebuid Hogwarts to be better than it ever has before. Our most urgent priority right now is to ensure that the children are safe. Now then, everyone will leave. Mr. Krillin, will you depart with us, or will you fight?" Dumbledore said.

Krillin turned around to where the battle between Cell and the Z-Fighters was taking place. Energy burst off in the sky like like fireworks, the distant sounds of combat echoing. Krillin shivered, "I'll go with you. I'll just get in the way here."

Dumbledore nodded understandingly, and prepare to speak before a distant cry interrupted him. From the top of the treeline came Fawkes the phoenix, his majestic red plumage easily visible in the night sky. In its talons was the brown Sorting Hat.

The mythical bird landed gracefully on Dumbledore's shoulders, and the headmaster seemed to communicate wordlessly with the creature. Gazing off towards the battleground, Dumbledore nodded, Fawkes taking the gesture as a signal to take off. The phoenix flew towards the battleground.

The teachers glanced towards Dumbledore, hoping for an explanation. They received none, as the old wizard was already onto the next order of business.

"Very well then. Everyone, grab onto me, I shall apparate us to Beauxbatons immediately." Sprout, Hagrid, Snape, Harry, and Krillin, who was carrying Pettigrew, grabbed Dumbledore's shoulders, and in a flash, they teleported from the Hogwarts grounds.

Meanwhile, Cell was expertly defending himself from Gohan's enraged assault, a playful smirk on the bio-android's face all the while. The young hero fought with unscrupulous tenacity, placing deadly force behind each of his attacks.

"Interesting…I wonder why you have gotten so powerful all of the sudden." Cell mused as he blocked rapid-fire punches from Gohan. "Keep this up, and I might even break a sweat."

"DON'T MOCK ME!" Gohan roared, unleashing a volley of energy blasts at Cell, who, although managing to block them, found that he had received slight burns on his arms for the trouble.

Gohan panted, the half-Saiyan needing a moment to recover his strength. The vicious flare in his aura died down, and the fire in his eyes dimmed ever-so-slightly. Goku and Trunks flew up on either side of Gohan, both Saiyans taking fighting stances.

"Ah, quite the boy you have there, Goku! I never expected that either Trunks or Gohan would be in the same league as you, but it appears that you have deigned to provide me with a challenge today." The bio-android mocked.

"Damn you! I'm sick of your endless taunts, freak show! Just shut up and fight us!" Trunks cursed.

"Calm down, Trunks. There's no need to get riled up. After all, there's no way we're gonna lose. Especially once Gohan gets really mad." Goku said, calm and confident.

Cell's eyes widened. "So, his power is linked to his emotions. How fascinating." He purred. "It seems that in order for the game to remain interesting, I will have to draw this hidden power out."

"What do you mean by interesting?" Trunks snarled.

"I mean that at your current levels, none of you are worth fighting." Cell said viciously. "Even before I took care of Piccolo, I was not using anything near my full power. The idea of you mouth-breathing cretins truly defeating me is laughable." To emphasize, Cell barked out a laugh. "So, if this boy has any real power, then he shall show it to me."

The bio-android powered up, golden flames rolling off of him in waves. "I shall fight him alone. Goku and Trunks, you shall stay back. Your assistance will only stunt the boy's anger."

Gohan looked nervously at his father, hoping against hope that he would not be left to battle Cell on his own. However, Goku nodded, an eerily placid expression his face. "Fine."

Trunks glared at the older Saiyan. "Goku, you can't be serious. He's a child, we can't let him fight on his own!"

"I hate to say it, but Cell's right. We never had much of a chance to beat Cell, Trunks. It's pointless for us to continue. In fact, the only person who can beat him right now is Gohan. His hidden power is the only shot at victory we have." Goku said, quelling Trunks' indignation.

Cell ticked in frustration. "How disappointing. He promises me a challenge, yet gives me nothing but a child."

Still, Gohan appeared to be in far better shape than either his father or Trunks, having the least amount of injury and damage on his person. Perhaps he truly was the strongest of them.

Gohan turned to face his dad, uncertainty etched into his features. "Are you sure, dad? I don't know if I can do it…"

Goku leaned down and placed a reassuring hand on his son's shoulder. "I know that this is hard for you, but you have nothing less than my absolute faith. Just let the anger you've been bottling up for so long release. Remember what and whom we're fighting for." Goku's word choice brought visions of Hermione to the forefront of Gohan's mind.

"Think of every innocent person that this monster has hurt, and will hurt, if we fail here today, and make that your power!"

Gohan nodded slowly. "OK, I'll do it."

Goku's smile widened. "That's my boy! Now get out there and save the world."

Gohan turned to face Cell. The bio-android and the half-Saiyan stared each other, the heavens themselves stilling as the moment froze in time.

Meanwhile, Piccolo, Krillin, Harry, and Flitwick successfully apparated to the Beauxbatons grounds with Pettigrew in tow. The school was truly a magnificent sight. Surrounded by small farms on rolling green hills, the academy was a shockingly white castle situated in the countryside's valley.

A quintessentially French coat of arms on a blue flag hung from the castle's top spire, and the fortress glowed orange with lights and activity. There was no time for the denizens of Hogwarts to take in the view though- not when Piccolo required urgent care.

Flitwick seemed to know where to lead them, leading Krillin and Harry to the French academy's great hall. The tables were cleared out as makeshift camps were fortified to house the population of Hogwarts. Even though the hall was magically expanded to fit the newcomers, it was still packed rather tightly.

Harry looked around, trying to ascertain where Ron and Hermione were. However, there was soon no need to look for them, as he was assaulted in a sidelong hug by Hermione, with Ron trailing behind her.

"Harry! I'm so glad you're all right! How was the third task? Oh, never mind, something is happening at Hogwarts right now, and there's just a million things to tell you-"

"Blimey, let the man breathe, Hermione." Ron chuckled. "But seriously mate, some nasty stuff is going down right now. That's why Gohan isn't around."

"Yeah, I heard all about it from Dumbledore. I can't believe that there's an enemy more powerful than Voldemort out there. Speaking of which, Vegeta and I just killed Voldemort a few minutes ago."

Harry said all of this in one breath, and the impact of his words did not reach his friends at first.

"Yeah, I just hope that Gohan will be OK- wait, what did you just say, Harry?" Hermione slowly questioned.

"Oh, just that I heard about everything from Dumbledore."

"No, the last part."

"Ah, that. Yeah, Vegeta and I killed Voldemort."

Hermione and Ron's jaws dropped magnificently. Ron's eyes bugged out, while Hermione's expression as blank with shock. "Really." Was all she was able to say.

"Yeah." Harry grinned widly, a new wave of adrenaline coursing through him. "He's gone, forever. He came back from the dead using my and Vegeta's blood, and I thought for sure we were goners. Vegeta was caught off-guard by nearly thirty Crucio's, and I had to battle him alone for a while. My wand did something weird that let us completely vaporize his body. We even captured Pettigrew for good measure."

All of this was again said in one breath.

Tears welled up in not only Hermione's eyes, but Ron's as well. The blight that had plagued their young lives was vanquished. Harry smiled, but something didn't feel right. It didn't seem as though Voldemort's presence was truly gone. Harry couldn't explain it, but something felt amiss. For now though, there was no need to worry.

"Where is Vegeta?" Hermione said breathlessly, "I think some thanks are in order."

"Even though the bloke's an arrogant arse, I guess he does deserve some credit for helping defeat You-Know-Who." Ron added.

"He went off to battle with Gohan and the others. He seemed to be in a big hurry. He even rushed away before he could be properly healed." Harry said.

"Oh, I wish I could be there with Gohan. I hate being stuck here. By the way, as soon as he gets back, he's explaining everything. I mean EVERYTHING." Hermione's tone changed from worried to annoyed in a moment.

"Yeah, I second that. We've always known that there was something different about him, but this whole situation definitely warrants further investigation." Harry agreed.

Ron opened his mouth to say something, but before he could talk, he looked at something over Harry's shoulder. Draco Malfoy was quickly walking towards them, his expression stormy.

"So, it's true then? You've…you've vanquished the Dark Lord?" Draco said softly. Harry turned, coolly regarding his rival.

"Seems that way, What have you done today, Malfoy?"

"Don't be glib, Potter. You know that the Dark Lord's followers will resurrect him once again." Malfoy's words were deliberate, as he did not want to out himself as openly supporting the Death Eaters.

"Oh, I'll be careful to make sure that doesn't happen. Sorry that your dad's out of a job, by the way. Perhaps he could go work at a supermarket or something." Harry's mocking words caused Draco to draw his wand, an action that was met by Harry, Ron, and Hermione.

Seeing that he was outnumbered three to one, Draco sheathed his wand. "Don't talk about my father that way, Potter. He is a far more powerful man than you know."

"I'm shaking in my boots. No, with Vegeta's current stranglehold over Slytherin House, you and your little Death Eater buddies aren't doing a damn thing. Bye now." Harry wiggled his fingers at Draco, who fumed before turning about-face and departing them.

Ron looked at Harry, impressed. "Wow, you really shut him down."

Harry was giddy, buzzed that he had achieved victory over his mortal enemy. On another day, perhaps he would've attempted to solve the situation with Draco more diplomatically, but he had no filter right now.

"I'm not scared of Malfoy, not any more."

Meanwhile, Piccolo was lain on a makeshift hospital cot, where he was being tended to by various Beauxbatons healers. Krillin swore them to an oath of secrecy regarding Piccolo's obviously irregular biology. Although he obviously didn't look human, Piccolo would be very irked if his alien lineage was released to the xenophobic public.

After copious transfusions of water and time allowed for regeneration, Piccolo came to, his hand immediately reaching for his neck. "Man, my neck's stiff…where are we?" he immediately asked.

"We're at another magic school. Dumbledore sent us here to heal. Now don't rush off, you're at nowhere near full power." Krillin said soothingly, handing the Namekian a cool water bottle.

"Not like I'd be able to do much anyways. Cell is still out of my league, even with magic on my side." Piccolo grunted. He turned his ki senses to the battle, noting that Goku and Trunks' energy signatures were at rest.

"What's going on? Goku and Trunks aren't fighting! Gohan is facing Cell alone!" Piccolo said as he stood up. "Goku, this is madness! What is your plan?"

Gohan rushed at Cell, using every last drop of his power in an attempt to strike down the hateful android. Cell grinned, ecstatic; this was finally a chance for him to plumb the depths of his potential- and perhaps draw out Gohan's inner strength in the process.

Gohan and Cell traded blows for ten minutes, weaving about the crumbling Hogwarts castle. Gohan's nimble frame allowed him to dodge Cell's attacks for the time being, but the half-Saiyan's small size was a curse as well, for he could not mount an offensive against the much-larger Cell.

"That's it, son! Make him come to you!" Goku cheered on.

"Gohan…" Trunks muttered, speechless that Gohan was able to hold his own against the bio-android.

However, Cell eventually caught Gohan, grabbing the front of the boy's gi. Smirking, Cell proceeded to unleash a series of jabs at the child's face before delivering a heavy kick that sent the boy flying into ground, sending up chunks of dirt and rock.

Gohan picked himself up as quickly as he could, breathing heavily and wiping blood from his lips.

"Really? If this is the best you can do, then I might as well destroy this pathetic planet right now."

Gohan felt panic creep up his spine. He didn't know what else he could do. He was already trying as hard as he possibly could.

_"You can do it, son! Don't let him get you down! Just tap into your hidden power and you can beat him for sure!"_ Goku said telepathically.

_"I don't know if I can! I can't control myself when that power is unleashed! What if I end up hurting someone I care about?"_ The boy protested.

_"Trunks and I can take care of ourselves, and if anyone else come along, we'll do everything we can to protect them! You need to focus your entire being on this fight! That's the only way you'll succeed!"_ Goku responded.

Gohan paused, dusting off his clothes and gazing up at Cell. _"I'll do my best, dad!"_ He called before rushing at Cell again.

Gohan reared back with a punch, but Cell easily caught it. "Come on boy, try harder! Surely you realize what will happen if you fail. I'll beat you to death, right in front of your foolish father. The pain, I assure you, will be unbearable. Now quit playing around and show me your legendary strength!"

"I'm trying! I'm trying as best I can!" Gohan managed out before Cell kneed him in the gut.

"In that case, your best simply isn't good enough! Perhaps what you need is motivation! Perhaps if I finished off your pathetic friends, then you would show me your power!" Looking into Gohan's eyes, Cell forcibly read his mind.

Gohan's eyes widened and he let out a pained screech. Cell's malignant presence was like cold metal scraping against the walls of his mind, plucking out memories and experiences like overripe fruit.

The image of a brown-haired girl rose to the front of Gohan's mindscape. Cell smirked in sadistic pleasure. "How adorable, you have a little girlfriend. It would be a shame if she had to die because of your weakness."

"That's it, I've had enough! I'm going in there!" Trunks prepared to take off, but he was stopped again by Goku.

"Wait, can't you sense that? Gohan's power is rising really fast!" The pure-hearted Saiyan shouted with pride.

Gohan's eyes were white, blank with rage. Blue tendrils of lightning curled around his frame, and his aura exploded, sending Cell flying backwards.

His fear melted away in the flames of anger and rage. The boy's hair spiked skywards, and his young muscles flexed with power. The power erratically erupted from his like a geyser, and although it kept building and growing, Gohan could not control it.

Cell's eyes were alight with curiosity; would he at last encounter a challenge?

**"I'M…GONNA… KILL YOU!" **A voice, black with hatred, emerged from Gohan's throat.

Trunks shielded his eyes from the golden light. "I've never felt this level of power before! It's incredible!"

Goku looked on in anticipation. "You can do it, son!"

And then suddenly, the flame flickered out, and the power was gone. Gohan was unable to control his newfound strength, and it slipped away from him without his control.

"No…" A single tear trickled down the boy's cheek. "I was so close…"

"How disappointing." Cell frowned. "I didn't want it to have to come to this, but it seems more extreme measures will have to be taken…" He slowly moved towards Gohan.

At that moment, Trunks saw a brilliant red phoenix descend as if from the heavens themselves. In its talons was a beaten-up brown hat. As if in slow motion, a shining silver sword adorned with rubies fell from the hat's brim and into Trunks' hand.

"A sword?" The boy from the future questioned. On the hilt, the word 'Gryffindor" was carved. Trunks had no idea what it meant, but now was not to the time to ponder.

_"Help will always come at Hogwarts to those who deserve it."_ A voice that was not his own sounded inside his mind.

With the courage of a lion, Trunks raised the sword above his head and flew into the battle. "Leave him alone, Cell!" The boy shouted.

Infusing his ki into the Sword of Gryffindor, a divine golden glow emanated from the blade. Cell smirked, kicking Gohan into the ground.

"How adorable, the little boy has a sword to play with." Cell coalesced dark purple energy onto his fingertips, aiming to block the mysterious blade. To his surprise, Trunks was able to slice through the android's fingers completely, causing Cell to howl in pain.

Trunks' face was screwed up in determination. As he aimed for another strike though, Cell punched him in the face.

"A nice try, boy. Much like your father, you fight tirelessly and doggedly. And, like your father, your efforts are completely in vain." Creating a crescent of violet energy, Cell sliced through the Sword of Gryffindor and left Trunks with a nasty diagonal gash in the process.

It was the most powerful attack Trunks had ever received. The boy from the future was down and out, his turning lavender once more as he and the fragments of the sword fell to the ground.

Turning his gaze to the worried Goku, Cell smirked. "As for daddy dearest…" The hole where the bio-android's tail once was opened up with a sickening squelching sound.

"I think it's time for you to meet _my_ son." A blue abomination that could only be described as a mini-Cell appeared. "Perhaps he won't be as much of a disappointment as yours. You see, though cellular mitosis, I can create a smaller clone of myself. I'll call it…Cell Jr. My son here is not quite as strong as I am, and cannot regenerate as I can. However, I'm sure you won't be able to tell the difference, Goku."

The offspring of Cell cackled wildly. "Man, that kid is completely crazy!" Goku chuckled grimly, warming his weary and overtaxed muscles once again. He could sense the power from the Cell Jr, and he knew that trying to put it down in his weakened state would be a challenge.

Still, he had surpassed every challenge, broken every limit that was in his way before. He would take this creature down.

The Cell Jr lunged at Goku, coming high with a dropkick. Goku raised his arms in a crossblock, but the kick still rattled him with its force. The Saiyan fell back and fired an energy blast from its palm, wanting to gain distance from the little monster.

Gohan took a step towards the battle, but Cell halted him with a warning shot. "No, child, you brought this upon yourself. Now, you can sit back and reap the rewards of your cowardice." Cell said coldly. Gohan shivered, his hair beginning to jerk upwards.

The creature swat aside the blast and launched a series of punishing blows on Goku, who could not defend himself from the sheer speed of the attacks. From the sky, the Cell Jr punted Goku past several layers of soil, and when Goku recollected himself, he found that he was in the Potions classroom.

Quickly scanning his surroundings, Goku saw a glass beaker filled with a sky-blue concoction. Without thinking, he picked up the container and threw it at the Cell Jr. "Please, let that be a poison or something!" Goku hoped with his fingers crossed.

The potion splashed onto the Cell Jr's skin, and the little monster screamed in terror as the unknown liquid settled onto its skin.

Suddenly, the Cell Jr slumped over, closing its eyes and beginning to snore.

Goku couldn't believe his luck. "Haha, no way! That must be a Sleeping Solution! Who knew it would work on him!" With that, he began charging another Kamehameha, drawing on the last reserves of his energy.

"HA!" Goku released the energy wave, vaporizing the Cell Jr at the cost of completely destroying not only the potions classroom, but an entire half of the castle as well. Goku flew into the air, breathing heavily.

"Hey, Cell! I beat your little science experiment!"

Cell frowned. "Oh no, what a devastating loss." He then turned around and opened his tails sucker once more, producing yet another Cell Jr, an exact clone of the one Goku had just destroyed.

"Oh, shoot." Goku chuckled, at the end of his rope.

"Dad, no!" Gohan shouted, raw with emotion.

"Mineminemineminemine-!" A voice growing ever-louder shouted. From out of nowhere, a golden blur struck the newly-born Cell Jr in the side, punting it across the grounds.

"Ugh, not you again." Cell frowned. "Vegeta!" Gohan yelled.

"Yes, Cell, it's me. It's been a long time since I've looked at your ugly face. I look forward to beating you to a pulp!" Vegeta declared ostentatiously, his strident voice echoing across the empty grounds.

"Thanks, Vegeta! Hey, what took you so long?" Goku said conversationally while rubbing his sore shoulders.

"I was held up fighting some creepy snake guy with the Potter kid." Vegeta responded. When this statement was met with quizzical expressions by Goku, Cell, Gohan, and the Cell Jr, Vegeta hastily explained, "It's a long story."

Cell chuckled. "I'm surprised that you would bother facing me again after the way I humiliated you last time. Perhaps you're a masochist?"

Vegeta's temper exploded. "I will destroy you, Cell, and restore honor to the Saiyan race! For harming me and harming my son, I shall defeat you!"

_"Wait…Vegeta's concerned about Trunks?" _Gohan thought, glancing over at Trunks' unconscious form.

"Now, by the honor of the Saiyans, I shall-" Vegeta's speech was cut short by the Cell Jr driving its little knee into the small of his back. Before the small blue demon could follow up, it was punched away by Goku, who was panting heavily.

"Vegeta, neither of us are 100% right now. I don't know what happened to you in the third task, but you're hurt." Goku said, concerned. The Cell Jr cocked its neck and prepared to rush at the two Saiyans again.

"I'll be able to manage this creature much better than you, regardless!" Vegeta shouted, meeting the Cell Jr's fist with his own, causing a small explosion of energy to take place.

"My, this is interesting, isn't it, boy? The foolish father teaming up with the weakling prince to fight my young son." Cell mused, turning to the angry Gohan.

"My dad is not a fool!" Gohan shot towards Cell, wanting to protect his father's honor. The bio-android's smirk disappeared as flicked his wrist, knocking the boy to the ground with a crack.

"Do not attempt to interfere with the procession of my game! Just sit back and enjoy for now, your turn will come." Cell snarled.

Goku and Vegeta each flew at the Cell Jr, two golden comets racing towards victory. The blue creature leered at them before placing his hands together in a diamond-shape.

"Tri-Beam Ha!" The clone of Cell shouted, causing a square beam of solid light to slam against Goku. The pure-hearted Saiyan was slammed into a cubic crater, covered in dirt and gravel.

Vegeta took advantage of the distraction, landing a spinning kick on the Cell Jr. Another double axe-handle sent the creature to the ground. The Saiyan flew down, but his driving knee only met the empty air of the Cell Jr's afterimage.

Above Vegeta, the Cell Jr shot a barrage of purple Death Beams, which would have surely pierced the Saiyan Prince if not for Goku's timely Instant Transmission. He grabbed Vegeta and zapped him away from where the blasts were going to hit.

"You've gotta be more careful! This guy has all of our techniques!" Goku warned, although part of him knew that trying to communicate with the stubborn prince would be a vain effort.

"I don't need advice from you, Kakarrot!" Vegeta shouted, yanking his shoulder away from Goku. "And I certainly don't need your help!" Just let me fight on my own, I'll do a better job than you ever could."

Goku frowned, but there was no time to argue, as the son of Cell was sipping towards them, both of its fists crackling with golden light. "Hee hee hee!" the insane creature shouted before blasting Vegeta with a double buster cannon. The prince went tumbling along the grassy field, his Slytherin robes becoming frayed and torn.

Meanwhile, Goku was delivering a series of expertly timed blows, although the Cell Jr was able to block and parry them all. Their battle went skyward, the pair of duelists crashing through the clouds.

The Cell Jr was able to create distance, but its repitoire of ranged attacks was too predictable to be effective against a seasoned warrior like Goku. A hard kick from Goku sent the creature flying downwards, its limbs splaying wildly as it attempted to regain control.

In a fit of frustration, the clone shot a volley of rapid-fire blasts, but Goku was easily able to duck and weave through them. So focused was the Cell Jr on Goku that it was unable to perceive Vegeta flying directly behind him.

With a visceral crack, Vegeta delivered a hard elbow to the clone. Goku followed it up with another swooping kick. Although the two Saiyans had never battled together before, their fighting styles complimented each other perfectly. Vegeta's brutal, forceful blows combined with Goku's smooth, flowing martial arts to form a devastating symphony of strength from which the Cell Jr could not possibly defend itself from.

Two yellow streaks of light bounced the clone around the sky like a pinball. Goku punched the clone skyward before he and Vegeta landed on the ground, each of them charging their most powerful attacks so that they could finish the clone off.

The Cell Jr righted itself high in the air, and pulled its clawed hands to one side of its head. "GONNA KILL YOU!" It shouted, wrath in its eyes. A magenta ball of energy charged in its palms. "Galick Gun!"

_"Alright, body, one last time…"_ Goku thought, cupping his hands as well. "Ka…Me….Ha….Me…"

Vegeta's hands faced outwards, yellow bolts of lightning crackling around him. "You dare steal my technique! Take this! Final…!"

"FIRE!" The Cell Jr screeched.

"HA!" Goku yelled.

"FLASH!" Vegeta roared.

The blue beam of Goku and the yellow flash of Vegeta met and intermixed, creating a hyper-white force of pure energy with enough force to destroy several planets.

They clashed with the purple Galick Gun for a moment, but the combined rage of the two Saiyans was far too much for the Cell Jr to handle, and in only a few seconds, the second clone of Cell was completely obliterated in a blinding flash of light and color.

Cell scowled. "Hmm, it seems my children are turning out to be disappointments. I suppose now I know how Goku feels."

The Final Kamehameha soared into space, and the light faded as it left Earth. Goku and Vegeta keeled over, each of them exhausted completely. They stared up at the sky, gasping for air as their hair returned to its natural black shade.

Cell leered at the enraged Gohan for a moment before strolling over to the two spent warriors. His hands began to glow with wicked purple energy. "They're going to die, you know "I have won this little game of ours, and now you all will suffer the consequences for your failure." The bio-android sneered.

"Now then, it appears that Dr. Gero's dream is finally going to come true, for today is the day that you die, Son Goku. Any last words?"

Goku desperately tried to sit up, his breath hitched. "Gohan…." He sputtered, "Whatever happens from now on, I'll always be proud of you, my son. I'm sorry…I'm sorry I couldn't always be there for you when you were growing up. Just know that I love you so much. "

Tears freely trailed down Gohan's bruised and injured face.

"Beautiful. And what about you, Vegeta?" Cell questioned, insultingly cavalier.

"Fuck you." Vegeta spat.

"And there it is. Then I suppose it is time to end the Saiyan race for good. Goodnight, sweet prince, and flights of death beams sing thee to thy rest."

Cell fired off a round of death beams at the Saiyans.

Gohan trembled uncontrollably, something inside of him shattering irreparably. Every dark and lonely thought, every snap of rage, every tear of sadness was now coming to a head. A molten inferno of hatred blocked out all of his thoughts, and he screamed. His only impulse now was of swift, merciless destruction.

His golden hair had spiked dramatically, and blue arcs of electricity curled around his body. His golden aura, once a gentle flame, was now jagged with raw fury.

Gohan flashed in front of father and Vegeta, swatting aside the lasers that would have surely ended their lives then and there. His jade eyes bored into Cell.

"I WILL NOT LET YOU GET AWAY WITH THIS!"

**A/N**

**Fun Fact: In the english dub of DBZ Kai, Cell actually said "goodnight, sweet prince" right before he was about to kill Vegeta. It was cheesy and I loved it.**

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**So, this update's pretty late. I hope you all can forgive me. I've a hard time writing lately. Since it's summer where I live, my work hours have increased, and I've also been partaking in much more outdoor activities in general, such as fishing. One of my goals by the end of August is to get 1000 miles logged in on a big-ass Harley I recently bought. Still, I'll do my best to write more often.**

**As far as the chapter goes, it was full of rock-em sock-em DBZ action, and I hope you guys liked it. It's now SSj2 Gohan time, which is everyone's favorite time. I'll see you next chapter, and I thank you for the positive feedback the story's gotten.**


	14. LIGHTNING ONLY STRIKES TWICE

Gohan screamed. A high-pitched, unearthly wail that reverberated through the empty Hogwarts grounds. The last bricks of the castle crumbled, the once-proud school of magic reduced to bedrock.

Trunks felt himself come to, hanging on to his newly recovered consciousness by a thread. "Is that…Gohan?" He mumbled in confusion.

"He's done it! Gohan has ascended beyond a Super Saiyan!" Goku cheered.

"Impossible…there's no way a child could reach this level of power!" Vegeta grunted, his teeth stained with blood.

Gohan's scarred and bruised face was sharp and vicious, his countenance one of a true Saiyan warrior. The boy had surpassed every Saiyan in history, and now took his rank among the demons and gods of legend.

His senses had heightened incredibly. Everything moved as if in slow motion, and he acutely felt his place in the universe, in nature. He took in everything at once from the grand convergences of the stars to the scuttling of a cockroach on the ground.

The boy gazed at Cell, whose mouth hung slightly open in shock. It was obvious that the bio-android was completely unprepared for a development of this magnitude. Still, he recollected himself quickly.

"Finally, you've revealed your true self. At last, perhaps things will get interesting." He said appraisingly.

Gohan continued to stare at him, his eyes promising suffering and death.

"Hmph. You really think that just because you've gotten little stronger that you can stop me? I am Cell! I am the perfect being, and everything in this universe exists for my amusement!" The villain declared ostentatiously, his golden aura flaring.

Gohan's right eye twitched; it was obvious that he could barely restrain himself. The young Super Saiyan tore his eyes away from Cell and looked to Goku. The pure-hearted Saiyan flinched; he had never seen such rage in his son's eyes before.

"LEAVE." Gohan shouted. "OR YOU DIE."

Goku gulped. He could not help but recall how he had acted in a similar fashion towards Gohan on Namek when had first transformed into a Super Saiyan. Now, the situation was reversed.

"Um, right. See ya later, son! Make sure to bop that meanie Cell once for me!" Goku smiled shakily. Gohan's eye twitched again, and Goku decided it would be best if he left as soon as possible.

When Goku had grabbed Trunks and Vegeta and transmitted, Gohan and Cell were left alone. Without warning, the young boy began to laugh. It started out as a soft, disturbing giggle, eventually working its way up to a frightful screech of laughter than set Cell's teeth on edge.

"Why are you laughing?" The bio-android frowned. The cackling began to die down, Gohan's face slowly reforming into its hardened, angry countenance.

"Because it's all just so _funny_." The boy whispered. "After all, this is a game, isn't it? You said so yourself. Why shouldn't I laugh?"

If Cell had eyebrows, they would be raised. "OK, so the kid's gone a little psycho. That's good, that's what I wanted. Now then, it's time to reveal my full power to you at last!"

Cell unleashed a terrible roar as he finally ascended to his maximum level. Deep and angry were his cries as he plumbed the depths of his energy. This time, it was clear that he would leave no drop of power untapped.

Eventually, the golden maelstrom subsided, and Cell and Gohan stood in the middle of a wide crater. "Incredible…so this is what it feels like to wield my full power. Now…at last, you shall learn your place, boy." Cell took a deep breath and braced himself.

Gohan had not moved or reacted at all during Cell's grandiose powerup. He gazed at the bio-android impassively. "So weak." Was all he said in response.

Cell grit his teeth. "I have had enough of your lip, child!" The villain rushed forward, landing a cracking punch on Gohan's face. The young Saiyan took a step backward, and Cell smirked, thinking himself successful.

Then Gohan planted his fist in Cell's abdomen, this one blow devastating the bio-android immensely. Cell immediately began coughing up blood and mucus, and his eyes were wide with shock.

He immediately reared his fist back for another punch, but Gohan began assaulting the bio-android with unthinkably fast punches, kicks, and grapples. He refused to let Cell breathe, brutalizing the bio-android with an unending onslaught. He finished the attacks off with an elbow to Cell's head, sending him tumbling end over end where the Hogwarts Castle used to be.

"W-Who are you?" Cell shouted, clutching his side in pain as he rose from the rubble.

The boy began to laugh that eerie laugh once more. "Who am I? I am Gohan. But then, maybe I'm not him. At least, I'm not the Gohan that used to be here. You see, he's gone."

"What? What do you mean?" Cell shouted, true fear beginning to creep within him for the first time ever.

"He's left." The boy replied as if it were obvious. "To where, I don't know. Still, something tells me he's never coming back. It's such a shame that you had to kill him, Cell. He was such a sweet little boy. No, I am much more than that. I am the scream that wakes you from your nightmares. I am the primal idea that transcends Saiyans and wizards and men. I am the true Super Saiyan." Gohan said all of this with a grim smile on his face.

_"Oh, I think I might have made a mistake."_ Cell thought, his eyes widening.

Goku transmitted to the great hall of Beauxbatons, and immediately keeled over next to Trunks and Vegeta, whom he had transported with him. Needless to say, the students were somewhat distressed that three half-dead adults popped into the room with no forewarning, and several shrieks of surprise echoed throughout the chamber.

Madam Pomfrey, Krllin, and Piccolo forced a path through the crowd that was beginning to gather around the Saiyans. With a nonverbal levitation charm, the Hogwarts nurse hovered Goku, Vegeta, and Trunks. She only began caring for them after Krillin assured her that Trunks was an ally.

"So, the purple-haired one is the son of Vegeta? I have three questions." Pomfrey said sharply to Krillin.

"Shoot." The monk shrugged.

"Is he as much of a jackass as his father?" Pomfrey began.

"Thankfully, no. He's actually a really nice kid."

"Ah, good. Second, how in the hell did two father-aged men get signed up as fourth years at Hogwarts?"

At this, Krillin laughed, and Piccolo smirked ever so slightly. "Sounds like your administration's problem, not mine."

Pomfrey frowned, but pressed on anyways. "And thirdly, how did these blokes get so bruised up? Mr. Trunks in particular looks like he got too close to a bloody hydrogen bomb!"

"They were trying to squish a really big cockroach, but they had some trouble." Krillin said in between fits of laughter.

Piccolo was unamused now. "This is not the time to be joking. I'm pissed at Goku that he would dare leave his only son alone with that monster."

After several healing spells were administered, Goku was the first to come to. When they heard that he had woken up, the golden trio had come over to greet him. "Hey, what's up guys?" He smiled lazily at Krillin and Piccolo.

"We're so glad you're OK, Mr. Goku!" Hermione said, wringing his hand. "Hehe, me too. It was pretty rough going out there, but I'm sure Gohan's got it covered now."

"Yeah, about that," Piccolo strode over, shoving Ron out of the way, "I'm not happy with you. How could you leave Gohan out there on his own? You know he doesn't like to fight!"

Goku's countenance grew serious. "We had no choice. Gohan's hidden power is the only thing that can stop Cell now."

And yet, when they felt out Gohan's ki, it was filled with hate and resentment, completely eclipsing Cell's with its darkness.

Trunks was the next to wake, and after a round of stifled introductions, he was filled in on the situation by the others. "I see. Gohan's new transformation…was able to improve both his speed and his power. His energy is completely different from before!"

"I know, right?! He's like a Super Duper Saiyan!" Goku exclaimed cheerily.

"Yeah, I think Super Saiyan 2 sounds better." Harry said, offering his two cents with a wry smirk. After continually pestering the Z-Fighters with questions, the golden trio was allowed privy to their secrets, and now knew the whole story.

"It's hard to believe our little Gohan is part alien…" Ron murmured, his xenophobia shining through slightly.

"Still, it's strange how similar to humans Saiyans are. Perhaps one of our species is an offshoot of the other." Hermione theorized. However, her postulates were cut short by the grunt of Vegeta, who had awoken.

"Bloody hell." His use of the curse showed that his time in Wizarding Britain was beginning to rub off on his vocabulary. Before he could speak more, however, his bedside was crowded by a group of older Slytherin students.

They were all bowing, their noses nearly reaching the floor. "Lord Vegeta-" one of them began, "is it true?"

"Is what true?" Vegeta grunted, speaking to the random student before his own son.

"That you defeated the Dark Lord?" Another one, this one female, blurted.

"Is that the freaky snake guy?" Vegeta turned to Harry for confirmation, which the Boy-Who-Lived provided with a nod.

"Yeah, I roasted that guy. He was a total weakling, too." Vegeta smirked, and the Slytherins gasped collectively.

"ALL HAIL DARK LORD VEGETA!" They all cried in adulation, singing praises in Vegeta's name for fear that they would be the next to meet his terrible wrath.

Everyone laughed at this with the exception of Trunks, who was sighing in resignation. "Father, what have you been up to?"

Meanwhile, Gohan was slowly advancing on the terrified Cell. "Now then, I think I'm going to make you suffer for a bit…"

Cell backed away, his mouth agape in fear. "How? This shouldn't be possible! I am Cell! I have no equal! No Saiyan brat can match my perfect power!"

Gohan gave an unnerving grimace. "That's true, I haven't matched your power; I've surpassed it by leagues. I don't see why you're complaining though. After all, you asked for this."

Cell gasped. "Don't get so cocky, child!" Twin buzzsaws of yellow energy flew from Cell's fingers. "KIENZAN!" The bio-android had a crazed leer as the twin discs raced towards the uncaring Gohan.

Gohan caught both of them in his hands, his fingertips vibrating with golden power. He clenched his palms, and the buzzsaws, once thought to be able to cut through anything, shattered like glass after being exposed to Gohan's enormous power.

Cell flew into the sky, Gohan gazing after him with a heavy, lidded expression. Cell's index finger raged with purple spiral energy. "Makankosappo!" He rored before releasing the cannon at Gohan. Even though Piccolo designed the technique to drill through solid surfaces, Gohan flicked it away as if it were nothing more than a mosquito.

Taking a page out of Vegeta's book, Cell began firing multitudes of ineffectual energy blasts at Gohan. Using nothing but pure speed, Gohan was able to avoid every single shot, moving so quickly as to seem instantaneous.

"Why do you believe that your stolen techniques will work on me? I've seen them before, and my friends can do them a hell of a lot better than you can." After saying this, Gohan yawned in exaggerated fashion. "I thought that you would prove to be more interesting than this. I'm bored. Perhaps I'll finish you off now."

Cell roared in frustration before shooting skywards like a golden meteor. Reaching the absolute peak of his power. "KA…ME…HA…ME…"

A blue sphere ballooned in size behind Cell. Its size was comparable to the Spirit Bomb Goku wielded on Namek, and it bathed more than half the planet in its azure glow. "Let's see how you handle this! I'm going to blow up the Earth! And there's nothing you can do!" Cell shouted as he fired the energy beam. "HA!"

The blast could be seen even from hundreds of miles away at the Beauxbatons academy of magic. Paying no heed to the other students and medcal staff, the Z-Fighters rushed outside, gazing at the blast in horror. They forbade Harry, Ron, and Hermione from following them.

"No way! That blast can destroy the planet!" Goku yelled, eyes wide.

Vegeta could only stare, dumbfounded that his own powers had been so easily eclipsed by Cell and Gohan. "No…we can't go out like this! If your son truly has ascended beyond a Super Saiyan, then he will emerge victorious!"

Trunks briefly glanced at his father. _"Dad is placing his faith in another person…how much he must have changed in the past year."_

Gohan came back to himself slightly as he saw the blast descend upon the Earth. The madness that accompanied the Super Saiyan 2 transformation reigned itself in, replacing itself with steely determination. This wasn't his world, and it wasn't his place to play around when the lives of billions were at stake.

He whispered, "Ka…Me…Ha…Me…", coalescing energy around himself with hardly any effort at all. He was bored of fighting Cell, and now that he knew how the bio-android had crossed dimensions, he knew that he and his friends could do the same thing if they so chose. At last, they had an avenue of returning home.

Now, all that was left was to turn the page of his new future.

"HA!" Dazzling light burst from Gohan's hands as he deflected Cell's Kamehameha with his own. He easily reversed the beam's momentum and sent at back at lightspeed. Cell was unable to get out the way in time, so large was the diameter of the blast.

**"NO! I…AM…PERFECT!" **choked out Cell as the beam finally reached him. Gohan had placed enough power in the attack so that it would destroy Cell completely, leaving absolutely nothing of Dr. Gero's loathsome creation.

The black flames of hatred receded form Gohan's mind, replacing itself with overwhelming, soothing relief. It was finally over, it seemed. Gohan waited for five minutes, feeling out for any trace of Cell's ki. When he found none, he finally allowed himself to relax, falling out of his newly transformed state.

As his hair and eyes became black once more, he felt the heavy weight of fatigue set in. His sore muscles and creaking bones became readily felt, and suddenly he could barely stand.

"Wow…Gohan defeated Cell!" Krillin said aloud after the other Z-Fighters had thoroughly searched the area for the monster's energy. A part of Krillin felt sad that Android 18 was now dead as well, but he hoped that she could be revived somehow. He knew that she had the potential to live a better life than what Dr. Gero had planned for her.

Piccolo nodded. "Gohan…you've truly become a fine man and warrior."

"At last…Dr. Gero's menace has ended." Trunks said blankly, as if he could not really believe that it was over.

Goku smiled. "You've done well, my son." When he sensed Gohan's energy drop, the pure-hearted Saiyan raised his fingers and teleported.

Vegeta gazed at the spot where Goku had disappeared from. He was noticeably despondent compared to everyone else, his gaze directed downwards. _"Today, I have been truly defeated. Not only by Cell, not just by Kakarrot, but by his son too. To think that the power I've worked so hard to achieve would be surpassed by a mere child…I must train harder."_

Goku transmitted to Gohan's location. He briefly looked around at the empty space where Hogwarts used to be. Even in the throes of joy, Goku felt a tinge of guilt. If it was at all possible, the school would have be restored with the dragon balls. Goku did not know if Shenron could affect this universe, but he figured there was no harm in trying, especially since Dende had allowed them extra wishes.

Gohan was spread-eagled on the ground, regaining his breath and looking at the now-clear night sky. "Hey, Dad." Gohan said weakly.

Goku captured his son in a hug. "I can't believe it! My little boy has surpassed his old man! I knew you could do it!"

"Dad…crushing…me!" Gohan choked, causing Goku to chuckle. He picked up his son gingerly. "I bet you're tired after today. Don't worry, I felt your energy. I know that if I train hard enough, I can catch up to you!"

Gohan nodded, not wanting to expend any more energy on talking. Goku took the hint and transmitted Gohan to Beauxbatons.

Once they got there, Gohan was immediately besieged by the questioning students of Hogwarts. Vegeta restrained the Slytherins with nothing more than a glance, while Dumbledore and Goku patiently held back the rest of the school population. After greeting the other Z-Fighters, Gohan made his way over to a nice, soft bed.

"Gohan, are you a celebrity here?" Trunks asked as he guided the other half-Saiyan to Madam Pomfrey. "I wouldn't go that far." Gohan said, breathing heavily. However, he could say no more as his gaze zeroed in on the golden trio.

Ignoring Harry and Ron, Gohan immediately embraced Hermione. "You…you're OK!" She said in shock, mumbling into his shoulder. "Yeah, looks like it." He said slowly. She cupped his cheeks, drinking in the sight of him. Harry and Ron vaguely looked off in the distance, trying and failing not to make the moment awkward.

Goku, meanwhile, was approaching Dumbledore, allowing the headmaster to read his mind. "Yeah, sorry about the whole 'destroying the whole school thing'. I swear we didn't mean to though." Goku said, scratching the back of his head with a nervous chuckle.

"Mr. Goku, I would not consider myself very quick to anger. Still, I am less than pleased that you have destroyed a castle that had stood for one thousand years and houses priceless pieces of art and history." Despite his calm tone, the edge's of Dumbledore's mouth quivered with pure, unadulterated rage.

"Not to worry, Bumblebee!" Goku said placatingly, drawing the four-star Dragon Ball from his pocket. The orange sphere still held a brilliant sheen even after all this time.

"Ah, yes." Dumbledore had now truly calmed down. "I must say, it is rather convenient, having those dragon balls of yours."

"Yeah, they've saved us a lot in the past!"

Dumbledore said, "Now, are you going to try and return to your homeworld?"

Goku nodded. "We'll leave as soon as Gohan is ready. I don't know if this is going to work, but we'll have to give it a shot! If the wish works, just try not to tell the kids, OK? We don't need any more trouble." With that, Goku gave one last wave to Dumbledore before going to rejoin his friends.

As the students milled about, Gohan led Harry, Ron, and Hermioen aside for a private conversation. As he opened his mouth to explain himself, Harry interrupted him. "We know everything, mate. Your friends told us all about where you come from. It's insane that you're this strong at this age."

Gohan looked downwards, nodding quickly. It had been a very draining day, and he really didn't want to deal with this right now, and didn't want to tell her _goodbye_-

"Then you guys know that I can't stay."

Harry nodded, grim. Ron cast his gaze about, emotionally unprepared to handle the situation. Hermione was quiet, but strangely, she did not seem upset.

"Yeah, we know. We would never have stayed together anyways." Gohan didn't know whether she was referring to them as a group, or their relationship specifically. It hardly mattered either way.

"Then I guess I'll be leaving."

As Gohan turned to depart, Ron grabbed his arm. "C'mon mate, it's not like we won't ever see each other again. Now that you know the trick, I bet you can travel here whenever you like. We'd be down for a cup of tea any time."

Gohan smiled. "Yeah, that's true. I'll make sure to come over a few times a year, but my calendar doesn't really match up with yours, so I might drop in randomly."

"Bloody hell mate, it's fine. Now go on. I'm sure your family back home misses you." Ron said.

Gohan thought of Chi-Chi, and the Ox-King. He felt guilty for not thinking of his mother as much as perhaps he should have, but he was not eager to resume studying under her hawkish watch. From now on, he would not succumb to her unreasonable demands quite so easily.

Hermione gave him one last kiss. "Bye." She said shortly. "Bye." He replied. He walked away, leaving the golden trio to their own lives once again.

Goku walked up to the sullen Vegeta, who was fending off admirers from Slytherin. "Hey, we're going to try and leave soon. Any goodbyes you need to make?" Goku asked, ever considerate.

"No." Vegeta replied shortly, but then hesitated. "Actually, hold up."

The prince raced over to Harry, paying no heed to heavy emotional atmosphere surrounding him. "Hey, kid!"

Harry looked up at him quizzically. Did the Saiyan warrior really want to say goodbye to him?

"What's up?" Harry replied coolly. "Since I'm leaving soon, I suppose you can be named as the winner of the tournament. After all, it's not like I need any of the winnings." Vegeta said gruffly.

Ron's eyes lit up. "Merlin's armpits! That means you win a thousand galleons, Harry!" He said excitedly, shoving his friend's shoulders.

Harry smiled. He wouldn't need the winnings either, but he appreciated the thought. He supposed he could give them to Fred and George. They could certainly use the money if they wanted to start their joke shop. "Thanks. You know, Vegeta, you're not a bad guy."

"Oh, stuff it, kid." Vegeta said with his back turned to them. Hermione gave a watery smile; she could have sworn she heard a hint of leniency in his voice.

Vegeta then greeted Goku again. "So, about going through the portal." Goku said, not wanting to confront the prince about a display that was, in honesty, rather emotional for him.

"The task should be simple now that your son has ascended to his current level of power. Now that our powers have grown this much, we should be able to avoid being depressurized by the vacuum. That said, we'll need to be at full power, and we're not going to be able to survive out there for long. Baldy and the Namek will have an even harder time." The prince continued.

"I see. I bet we're going to have to manipulate our ki pretty carefully, huh?" Goku hypothesized.

"You bet your dumb ass we will. For all we know, we could go through the portal only to end up in the center of a star. We'll be flying blind." Vegeta huffed.

"Relax, or else you'll get your panties in a bunch." Piccolo mocked as he walked over. Vegeta seethed, while the Namekian gave Goku a significant look. "Krillin, Trunks and I are ready to go."

"Awesome. Once we get through to our universe, we'll have to lock on to Tien's ki signature so that we can go to Earth. Then, I need you to collect the Dragon Balls and wish back Hogwarts. I'll check with King Kai to see if Cell's really gone." Goku explained.

They went over the plan with Krillin, Trunks, and the depressed Gohan, they then prepared to depart. They opened the swinging doors to Beauxbatons Academy, the cool night breeze soothingly greeting them. The Z-Fighters were greeted outside by Dumbledore, McGonagall, Snape, and Hagrid.

"Hey, you guys!" Goku said cheerfully.

"We'll be going now. If all goes well, you'll have your school back in an hour!" Krillin said.

"What wondrous magic you all have. It really is amazing." Dumbledore said genially, taking his time to shake the hands of the Z-Fighters. McGonagall and Snape did the same, although Snape noticeably retracted his hand when Vegeta's turn came around. For his part, the prince didn't seem to care. Trunks, on the other hand, was rather flustered at the proceedings, as it would be the only time he would meet any of these people.

Dumbledore leaned down to give Gohan a pat on the shoulder. "I understand you had an instrumental part to play in saving the world, Mr. Gohan." At this, the dejected boy only nodded. "In that case, you have my utmost gratitude. If you would be so patient, could I offer you a piece of advice I've learned in my years?"

Gohan nodded again. Dumbledore continued, "I've learned that those who love us never truly leave us. It is, after all, harder to break bonds then to form them. For what it's worth, you and your companions shall always be welcome at Hogwarts."

Everyone nodded at these words, and Gohan's eyes lit up once again. "Thank you sir. I really appreciate it."

"It is the least I can do." Was all Dumbledore replied. After everyone received a customary bearhug from Hagrid, they were off. Goku, Vegeta, Trunks, and Gohan transformed, their golden light blotting out the stars. It was not long before Gohan summoned his grief and sorrow once more to transform into a Super Saiyan 2. Piccolo and Krillin brought their powers to their maximum as they soared into space.

They each immediately felt unbearable pressure coming from deep within and from outside. Wasting no time, everyone pooled their ki into Gohan, whose glowing hands ripped apart the fabric of reality.

For the first time in ten months, the Z-Fighters were back in their universe. Luckily for them, Vegeta's macabre predictions of them landing in the middle of a star did not come true. They emerged in space, the surface of a planet directly below them. The planet's red, rocky ground cast a red glow on them as Goku, Piccolo, and Krillin focused their Instant Transmission on Tien's ki signature.

At long last, the Z-Warriors had returned to their Earth. Each of them took a moment, breathing in _their_ air. Tien was overjoyed to see all of them (except Vegeta) again, a rare moment of joy for the normally stoic warrior of the crane style.

After a minute of recollection, Goku flew over to Capsule Corporation. After a brief reunion with Bulma, he had the Dragon radar in his hands once again. He and the other Z-Fighters soon gathered on Kami's lookout for the summoning of the dragon.

Before the wish to restore Hogwarts would take place, Goku telepathically contacted King Kai. "Hey, King Kai. How's it been?" He picked up conversation with his old mentor as if he had been yesterday since they last met.

"Nice and peaceful, my pupil." King Kai replied. On his small planet, the rotund blue deity was currently enjoying a nice space milkshake while reading a magazine. His pet monkey, Bubbles, was currently running about with the giant cricket Gregory.

"Has Cell come through the Check-In Station yet?" Goku asked, cutting straight to the point. Time was of the essence, after all.

"No, he hasn't, because he was not killed in this universe. Crazy to think about, I know. Maybe the afterlife works differently in the magic world?" King Kai hypothesized lazily.

Goku scratched his head, having never thought of such a possibility. "Weird to think about is right. I suppose his existence has been completely erased." Although Goku had the highest respect for the sanctity of life, he felt no remorse that Cell was gone forever. He supposed that Frieza would probably get lonely in Hell now, though.

"Awesome! Anyways, I've gotta run, King Kai. We have some very important wishes to make!"

"Ah, I'm sure. You Earthlings are lucky that you such far-reaching magical damage control." King Kai snarked, but Goku did not hear, for he had already broken the connection.

After gathering the seven Dragon Balls, the Z-Fighters gathered instinctually on the top of Dende's lookout. Tien, Yamcha, Dende, and Mr. Popo were all glad to see their friends again, but Goku and Piccolo were insistent on making the wishes soon.

The other six dragon balls were gathered at Dende's feet, the small Namekian waiting expectantly for Goku to set the four-star ball down with the rest. He grinned at the dragon ball he had brought with him to Hogwarts. Now, the sphere held even more fond memories of friends and good times gone by.

With all seven gathered, a shining energy erupted from the balls, rising upward. The sky darkened, and the orange light began to take the shape of a long, emerald green dragon. With a mighty roar, Shenron faced the Z-Fighters.

Vegeta, who up until this point was turned away and generally acting like an antisocial asshole, looked upon the Earth's dragon for the first time with fascination. Trunks, too, was enraptured, for it was also the first he bore witness to the miracles of the dragon balls.

"**I AM SHENRON, THE ETERNAL DRAGON- oh, it's you lot again.**" Shenron's normal histrionics were cut short once he realized that it was the Z-Fighters who had summoned him once again.

"Well, what is it this time? Let me guess, you want to revive Goku again." Shenron sighed with the pretentious air of someone who felt himself overworked, despite the fact that he had been sleeping for the past four years.

"Actually, I'm right here!" Goku greeted cheerfully. Trunks looked quizzically at the older Saiyan. "Um, is your dragon always this pissed off?

Goku cheekily grinned back at him. "Yeah, he's a little crabby, but he's still our dragon! Now then, Shenron, for our first wish we'd like to resurrect all of those who were killed by Cell!"

Shenron's red eyes flashed. "**The usual business then. Very well. Your wish is granted. Fare thee well-**"

"-Not so fast, buddy. Remember, with the new model, you have to grant us two wishes." Dende reminded, causing everyone to chuckle.

If Shenron had hands, he would certainly be facepalming. "**Fine. What is your stupid wish, anyways?**"

To everyone's surprise, it was Gohan that had stepped forward to articulate the wish. "Hey, Mr. Dragon. If you could, can you restore Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry back how it was before Cell attacked it?"

They were unsure if the wish would be possible. Goku had telepathically imaged the school to Dende, so they hoped it would be within the dragon's power to grant it.

After a few moments of suspense, the dragon finally responded. "**Your wish is granted. The Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry that you attended age 766 to age 767 has been restored to its former state. I even brought back that annoying poltergeist.**"

Gohan let out a whoop. "Thanks, Shenron! You're the best!" He praised, appealing to the dragon's ego.

"**I am the best, aren't I?**" Shenron said, drinking the compliment greedily. "**You know, why don't I get a wish? I feel like that would be awesome-**"

Dende swiftly cut him off. "Yeah, back to sleep you go." Shenron sighed in frustration before returning to the dragon balls. The orange spheres flew into the air in concentric motion before splitting off to the far corners of the Earth. Everyone watched them go, contemplative expressions on their faces.

_"Harry…Ron…Hermione…I'll never forget you!"_ Gohan thought fondly, gazing at the sky.

Two weeks later was the end of term for the students of Hogwarts. Once more, it was time to board the train and return home, at least until the coming September.

Harry Potter had enjoyed a relaxing end of the school year. He did not have to take exams, since he was a Triwizard Champion. He did not earn many popularity points around the school for this, but he never had many popular points with his fickle peers to begin with.

Dumbledore worked tirelessly to keep the press away from him, figuring that Harry would not appreciate the exposure. He was right in this assumption. Harry hoped he would have good luck in avoiding the media while he vacationed at the Burrow over the summer.

One thing that eased Harry's discomfiture as school winded to a close was a sudden change in behavior from Snape. Now that Voldemort was gone, Snape seemed to have become much less sadistic in his general demeanor, although he was still a stern and cynical man. Moreover, he seemed to have finally abandoned his grudge towards Harry, and his sneers held much less malice than before.

Although Harry would never have a cup of tea with him, he still appreciated Snape's lightened mood.

On the ride home on the Hogwarts Express, Harry sat with Ron, Hermione, and Neville, frequently venturing over to other compartments to converse with his friends. Still, he felt a void where Gohan should have been.

He knew that his half-Saiyan friend wouldn't want anyone to be sad for him, but Harry and the others couldn't help it, really. Still, he knew that someday, Gohan would return and tell them of his future adventures.

The train stopped at King's Cross station, as it always did. Harry departed, seeing the impatient, rotund form of Vernon Dursley waiting for him.

Oh, how his uncle would react if he saw Harry flying.

Harry gave his uncle a cheeky smile as he walked forward. Today was the day when he would finally escape from the clutches of his dark past and soar like an eagle into a new age of wonder.

**A/N**

**And this nearly marks the end of Never Tickle A Sleeping Dragon! A short epilogue will be posted in a few days showing Gohan's new perspective, as well as an Author's Note explaining how the future HP and DBZ timelines are affected by the events of this story.**

**Some may feel as though the way Cell was finished off was anti-climactic, but I figured that Gohan would opt to finish him off quickly, since it's not his world that's being threatened. I love the idea of SSj2 Gohan being a super powered evil side, even though it really isn't. As a kid, I actually thought that Gohan had turned evil after he had become an SSj2 for the first time, so that impression kinda stuck with me.**

**Anyways, thanks to you all for reading! I thought the story would end up a little longer, but I cleaned it up a bit and showed less fluff. I think that a more concise, complete fic is better than a million-word long epic that never gets to the end. Besides, I never aimed for this to be the best fic of all time or anything. It was just fun, and I hope you all enjoyed the story as much as I enjoyed writing it! I hope that I was able to the spirit of both of these great worlds! Even though both series are over, we as fans can still keep the true spirit of Dragon Ball and Harry Potter alive in our hearts!**


	15. EPILOGUE: EMBERS

It was six in the morning, and the sun was only barely beginning to clear the treeline of the Mount Paozu. Its light startled Gohan, who had been meditating there for the past two hours.

Many things had changed since Gohan's year at Hogwarts, but they remained the same, paradoxically. Perhaps it was only his perceptions that truly changed.

Everything seemed smaller now. The woods, once a mysterious bastion of faeries and wildlife, now seemed little more than a collection of trees, like music that had grown quieter and quieter.

The Son family's once-cozy home was now a little too cramped for Gohan's liking, and he often spent as much time outside as he could. His mother did not dote on him very much anymore, sensing that his countenance had hardened since his return.

The responsibility of being the strongest fighter on the planet weighed on his heart heavily. Was this how his father felt all the time? He would've once doubted it. His father was the invincible Goku, the Superman who would never stop smiling even if the planet was only moments away from destruction.

However, Gohan now knew that his father was not invincible. Seeing him get beaten to a pulp by the Cell Jr swiftly dispelled that particular notion. Before Hogwarts, he often saw individuals in black and white, as a child would.

Goku was the superhero who would never let him down. Vegeta was the cackling villain who always received his poetic comeuppance. Piccolo was the stern, grounded father-figure who alternated between being a harsh commander and a wise sage. He now saw these men as they were; men, not concepts.

Goku could lose. Vegeta could cry. Piccolo could make a mistake. They were his friends, his equals now, and he accepted them for who they were as people. Was this what being a man was like?

With the departure of Future Trunks back to his time, Gohan had taken up a strenuous schedule of training and studies. A healthy body led to a healthy mind, and he refused to favor one aspect of his life over another, regardless of both of his parent's wishes. He would've liked to spend more time with his dad, but he knew that it was important to learn all he could. And he certainly wouldn't cave into the overbearing demands of Chi-Chi, who would sooner condemn him to the mediocre life of a scholar than allow him to reach his full potential as a fighter.

While he trained daily with the other Z-Fighters and raised his younger brother Goten, his mind often wandered back to the world of magic that he had left behind. What would become of him if he stayed at Hogwarts and learned the way of the wizard? It would always be his biggest what-if.

A few times a year, he would ascend to the level of a Super Saiyan 2 and travel into space, replicating Cell's technique and breaching the gaps between dimensions. He usually scheduled his visits in the summer, when Hermione and the others wouldn't be busy with school.

Occaisionally, he would bring one of his companions along. Goku and Vegeta usually accompanied him, with Piccolo and Krillin only making sporadic visits to Hogwarts, understandably. Krillin was leading a busy life of his own, retiring from fighting to raise the daughter he had with Android 18, who had been wished back to life along with her brother by the Dragon Balls. Piccolo was never very social, and he seemed to think it better if the students of Hogwarts simply forgot about him.

Gohan always made time to visit the trio of Harry, Ron, and Hermione. He and Hermione would always be friends, but they could never truly connect on an intimate level. They each had their own lives to live, and they understood that. Still, the selfish part of Gohan wished that he could've stayed with her.

Regardless of his personal feelings, nothing brought Gohan more joy than seeing the face of Harry Potter at peace. The young man had already lived a hard life, and whenever Gohan visited, Harry always gave him his humblest thanks. He even gave Vegeta his regards, never forgetting their battle against Voldemort in the graveyard.

The prince, who had mellowed significantly after marrying Bulma, would always smirk and shake his head whenever Gohan would tell him of Harry's adulation. After many battles against Goku and Gohan, Vegeta's hatred had dulled and morphed into respect, but he would never settle for being second-best, and always challenged his fellow warriors to push their limits. Although some, like Piccolo, would never forgive Vegeta for his crimes, Gohan could not help but view him as a comrade.

And so, Gohan lived a life of peace, of joy, and of responsibility. Whatever threats would come, he and his friends would fight as they always would, for the fate of two worlds now rested on their shoulders.

**A/N**

**And this is the end of Never Tickle A Sleeping Dragon!**

**I originally planned for this fic to be more cracky, but the characters took me to rather serious and introspective places. Still, the fic was a pleasure to write. Thanks to you all again for your feedback. I hope you go one to read many more great works in the future!**

**The DBZ timeline from this point on is affected as follows. This is just what I think would happen, and if you think differently, please tell me how you think the timeline would change! I'd love to discuss with you.**

**\- Since Goku is alive, combined with the other events of the story, Gohan has now grown a spine. This means that he will no longer shirk away from his potential, and instead choose to train both his mind and body, becoming a respectable young man instead of Yamcha 2.0. He regularly keeps up with his studies, but also finds time to train with his father, Piccolo, and sometimes Vegeta.**

**\- Goku is alive, and thus he will not learn SSJ3 or the Fusion Dance, unfortunately. Both he and Vegeta would achieve SSJ2 by the Buu Saga, however. Also, since he had yet to conceive Goten with Chi-Chi before his impromptu trip to Hogwarts, this means that Goten will now be 2 and a half years younger than Present Trunks. This shouldn't affect their friendship too drastically, however.**

**\- Vegeta still lives with Bulma and Trunks, and over time, he eventually loses his more malicious tendencies, although he remains a stern and cynical man. Goku and Vegeta have plenty of spars and training sessions over the seven-year gap, and Vegeta's hatred of Goku eventually dulls into a grudging respect. Because of this, Vegeta would resist Babidi's mind control.**

**-Since Goku and Vegeta would not fight, there would not be enough energy for Majin Buu to be revived, and the series would most likely end with one of the three Saiyans defeating Dabura and Babidi. If, somehow, Buu was revived at full power, none of the Z-Fighters would possibly be able to defeat him, and thus Buu would destroy the Earth.**

**The HP timeline from this point is affected as follows. Again, this is just my speculation!**

**-Voldemort still exists as a metaphysical wraith, since he still has horcruxes binding him to the mortal realm. However, with Pettigrew imprisoned and Crouch dead, the pureblood clans would be too frightened to seek their master out again, and Voldemort would most likely exist as a wraith forevermore. **

**\- Since Voldemort is gone, Harry would probably not pursue battle magic as much, and would probably become a professional Quidditch player or something. It's entirely possible that he would still become an auror, though. Since Harry and Draco never saved each other's lives in this timeline, though, they would remain bitter enemies.**

**\- Hermione becomes a private wizarding attorney on behalf of magical creatures. It's hard for me to believe that an intelligent woman like Hermione would become a government employee, seems like a waste. The pairings hardly matter, of course. If Ron somehow got together with Hermione though, he'd become a stay-at-home dad. **

**-Dumbledore peacefully passes away at the age of 120, and names Minerva McGonagall as the next Headmistress of Hogwarts, with Snape becoming the new deputy headmaster. Snape, like Vegeta, slowly becomes less pernicious over the rest of his career, although he is by no means nice.**

**-Fred and George open up Weasley's Wizard Wheezes to record breaking success. This time, Fred gets to grow old with his brother and friends. **

**Thanks again for reading, and may you live a full and excellent life!**


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